Recently, I have been fascinated by a computer science problem that has to do with solving a system of linear equations given memory constraints. One could also consider what constraints you can impose when the physical medium is changed. i.e., instead of representing a computer using bits, what happens when qubits are used instead? What tradeoffs result?

A quantum bit (qubit) is the basic information unit in a quantum computer. Around 2018, a took a class at Harvard about quantum computing and learned a lot. But I have since moved on to other topics and now find myself in need of a quantum computing refresher. Here are two books I purchased that seem to have a good amount of background material on quantum computing and that I have enjoyed thus far: “Classical and Quantum Computation” by A. Yu. Kitaev, A. H. Shen, and M. N. Vyalyi (2002) [1] and “Quantum Computing: A Gentle Introduction” by Eleanor Rieffel and Wolfgang Polak (2011).

The first book “Classical and Quantum Computation” seems to be an extensive and comprehensive textbook that delves into both classical and quantum computing. It offers a rigorous treatment of the mathematical foundations, algorithms, and complexity theory of these computational paradigms. Part 1 of the book is dedicated to classical computation, part 2 to quantum computation, and part 3 to solutions to problems in earlier parts of the book. My personal opinion is that the intended audience of this book are readers with a strong mathematical and computational background.

The second book “Quantum Computing: A Gentle Introduction” takes a more accessible and approachable route to introduce the world of quantum computing. The book might cater to readers with limited knowledge of advanced mathematics and physics, presenting the core principles and applications of quantum computing in a clear and intuitive manner. This book was written for a broader audience and might be a gentle entry into the subject.

Seems like you can’t go wrong with either book but someone recently asked me about the two books and I wanted to write up my initial thoughts while briefly juxtaposing the two books.

References

[1] A. Yu. Kitaev, A. H. Shen, and M. N. Vyalyi. 2002. Classical and Quantum Computation. American Mathematical Society, USA.

[2] Eleanor Rieffel and Wolfgang Polak. 2011. Quantum Computing: A Gentle Introduction (1st. ed.). The MIT Press.