NSA and Army on quest for quantum physics jackpot

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: eekid () aol com
Date: October 28, 2008 8:55:58 PM EDT
To: dave () farber net
Subject: NSA and Army on quest for quantum physics jackpot

http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/34597



NSA and Army on quest for quantum physics jackpot

By Layer 8 on Tue, 10/28/2008 - 1:35pm.
By Layer 8 on Tue, 10/28/2008 - 1:35pm.

Sounds like a dangerous combination.  The US Army Research Office and  
the National Security Agency (NSA) are together looking for some  
answers to their quantum physics questions.

Specifically the scary couple is soliciting proposals to achieve three  
broad goals:

-develop new quantum computing algorithms for hard computational  
problems;

-characterize the efficiency of candidate quantum algorithms;

-develop insights into the power of quantum computation and consider  
issues of quantum complexity and computability.

    The announcement went on to say proposals for research should  
devise specific quantum algorithms to solve mathematically and  
computationally hard problems from such diverse fields as algebra,  
number theory, geometry, analysis, optimization, graph theory,  
differential equations, combinatorics, topology, logic, and simulation.

    The Army said quantum algorithms that are developed should focus  
on constructive solutions for specific tasks, and on general  
methodologies for expressing and analyzing algorithms tailored to  
specific problems- though they didn't say what those specific tasks  
were or problems exactly were.

    Other specifics of that the NSA and Army are looking for are as  
follows:

    "To characterize the efficiency of candidate quantum algorithms,  
metrics must be developed to quantify the performance of quantum  
algorithms relative to their classical analogs. The problems to which  
they are being applied must have well-defined inputs, and well-defined  
outputs, along with a well-defined statement of what exactly is being  
computed. A full accounting of all computational resources must be  
made including such things as numbers of qubits, numbers of quantum  
gates, amount of memory being used, amounts of classical pre- 
computation and post-computation, probability of success, and number  
of times the algorithm must be run.

        Investigators should presuppose the existence of a fully  
functional quantum computer and consider what algorithmic tasks are  
particularly well suited to such a machine. A necessary component of  
this research will be to compare the efficiency of the quantum  
algorithm to the best existing classical algorithm for the same  
problem."

     The agencies went on to say they expect to award in March 2009  
multiple, one to three year awards of less than $200K per year.

  Quantum physics has long been an area of enormous government  
interest. In March, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency said  
it was looking for  innovative research proposals in the intriguing  
area of quantum entanglement --  a developing component of quantum  
physics that looks at the behavior between atoms and  photons that  
could ultimately play a key role in developing security, unbelievably  
fast networks and even teleportation.  DARPA's program, called Quantum  
Entanglement Science and Technology (QuEST) has the lofty goal of  
developing revolutionary advances in the fundamental understanding of  
quantum information science, DARPA said.

DARPA last month put out a research request it calls Mathematical  
Challenges, that has the mighty goal of "dramatically revolutionizing  
mathematics and thereby strengthening DoD's scientific and  
technological capabilities." The challenges are in fact 23 questions  
that if answered, would offer a high potential for major mathematical  
breakthroughs, DARPA said.

And just this month researchers at the US National Institute of  
Standards and Technology (NIST) have demonstrated a technique that  
could make quantum cryptography significantly cheaper to implement,  
moving it nearer to possible commercial acceptance.  The technique is  
aimed at cutting the cost of equipment needed for quantum key  
distribution (QKD), designed to distribute cryptographic keys using a  
secure system based on the principles of quantum mechanics.


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