Coding For Classical-Quantum Channels
Ivan Savov , McGill

Area: Quantum Computing

Abstract:

The transmission of information through noisy communication channels is a fundamental problem of theoretical and practical importance. Given a probabilistic model of the noise in a communication channel, we can use Shannon's information theoretic techniques to calculate the maximum possible communication rates for that channel. Recently there has been interest in studying quantum channel models, which offer more accurate models for the encoding, transmission and decoding of the information. These models are relevant for communication systems in which the information carriers are quantum systems, like for example in the case of optical communication. This presentation will give an intuitive explanation of the Holevo-Schumacher-Westmoreland Theorem, which gives a precise characterization of the information carrying capacity of quantum channels. In closing we will discuss briefly the generalization of the HSW Theorem to quantum channels with many senders and/or many receivers (network information theory).