Quantum Information & Computation (QIC)
Nature Magazine Journal
Review (Nov. 7, 2002)
on Quantum Information and Computation
coordinating managing editor Hoi-Kwong Lo
Rinton Press, 7 issues/yr. $260 (institutional); $140 (individual)
Growing Up With Quantum Computing
Isaac Chuang
Physics and computer science have given birth to a new field: quantum
computation and quantum information. And just as proud parents with new born
children may find Parenting magazine appearing in their mailboxes,
researchers in this field now have Quantum Information and Computation,
a timely new journal from Rinton Press.
This journal, just over one year old, serves a nascent community that was
originally founded in the mid-1980s on the principle that information and
physics are fundamentally intertwined at their deepest levels. The spark
that ignited worldwide interest in this insight sprang forth in 1994 with
Peter Shor's discovery of a theoretical way to use quantum-mechanical
resources to unravel a mathematical problem at the heart of electronic
commerce and cryptography. The heyday of quantum computing followed, with
rapid invention of ways to combine the results of classic information theory
such as error correction with quantum physics. Experiments also successfully
realized quantum algorithms and protocols including quantum state
teleportation, using techniques from optics, nuclear and atomic physics, and
even exotic chemistry. Eight years on, as maturity is beginning to descend,
the excitement is still palpable and the young field is starting to walk --
but where will it learn to talk?
The appearance of Quantum Information and Computation fills its need
in the community, establishing a middle ground between computer science,
physics and the publication forums of other disciplines. Quantum-computing
papers currently clamour for time and attention all the way from Science
and Nature to the proceedings of the IEEE Foundations of Computer
Science and the ACM Symposium on Theory of Computing. Also the
field has gradually developed its own language and style, challenging the
limitations of venues intended for general audience. In Quantum
Information and Computation, papers have a natural home where authors
will finally be free to assume a basic knowledge of concepts, such as
quantum circuits and computational complexity.
Readers will also be pleased to find the journal well balanced and populated
with high-quality articles of generous length. The members of the editorial
board are accomplished and respected leaders in the field, representing both
theoretical and experimental work, and including experts in both physics and
computer science. This careful balance is reflected in the contents: the
first issue is a beautiful four-part
treatise on entanglement in all its theoretical aspects (providing a
much-needed entree into the subject), and another early issue elegantly
assembles 14 expert articles covering all the main implementation schemes
for quantum computers, including an inspired piece by David DiVincenzo on
"Dogma and heresy in quantum computing". The journal publishes tutorials as
well as regular articles, and features in-depth reviews of books in the
field, plus a regular and lively "webcorner" that lists online links to
active research groups, upcoming conferences and workshops.
Judging from the first ten issues, Quantum Information and Computation
is here to stay, and will find a warm welcome in the quantum-computation and
quantum-information community.
Isaac Chuang is at the Center for Bits and Atoms, Media Laboratory, MIT,
20 Ames Street, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
back to http://www.rintonpress.com/journals/qic
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