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Since the 1980s, simulation of quantum many-body systems has been a leading candidate for practical quantum advantage. Yet computing thermal equilibrium properties, a central pillar of this vision, still lacks an end-to-end algorithmic solution. Today, I will present a general-purpose algorithmic and analytic framework for preparing quantum thermal states as a quantum analog of Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) methods, and as a workable model of nature’s system-bath interaction.

Achieving superpolynomial speedups for optimization has long been a central goal for quantum algorithms. I will discuss Decoded Quantum Interferometry (DQI), a quantum algorithm descended from Regev's reduction, that uses the quantum Fourier transform to reduce optimization problems to decoding problems. For approximating optimal polynomial fits over finite fields, DQI achieves a superpolynomial speedup over known classical algorithms. The speedup arises because the problem’s algebraic structure is reflected in the decoding problem, which can be solved efficiently. Whether DQI can also attain quantum advantage for algebraically unstructured optimization problems such as max-k-XORSAT remains an open question. One reason for optimism is that the sparsity of the clause structure in max-k-XORSAT is reflected in the dual decoding problem, which is for LDPC codes. I will describe some current lines of attack on this open question, as well as generalizations of DQI for preparing Gibbs states of Hamiltonians. This talk will target a broad audience without assuming deep background in quantum algorithms.

This panel discussion brings together researchers to share insights on effective scholarly writing. Each panelist will highlight two well-written papers: one of their own and one by other authors. Through moderated questions and open audience discussion, panelists will discuss what makes these papers effective, strategies for structuring papers and communicating ideas, and common pitfalls to avoid in academic writing.

This talk will be a brief and interactive introduction to my current research and the cosmological concepts that go along with it. I will assume limited prior knowledge of GR and cosmology so that even students in unrelated fields can learn something interesting.

When dealing with QFTs or with quantum mechanical systems in the thermodynamic limit, one encounters uncountable Hilbert spaces. These are mathematically wilder and physically less realistic than their countable counterparts. In this talk, we will explore how vacua encode a choice to reduce the Hilbert Space in size. In spite of the mathematically sounding intro, we’ll see this has interesting physical implications.