QCS: Course Materials and Schedule
Lecture Recordings
All lecture recordings should be accessed via Learn; you will need to log in using your EASE account. (Learn provides you with access to any lecture recordings available for this course. You will need to select the "lecture recording" link once, before you can access any direct links to a lecture recording.)
Reading References
Lecture notes are the first thing to study and are suppose to be self-contained. However, further reading and details are given below.
NC: Quantum Computation and Quantum Information, Michael A. Nielsen & Isaac L. Chuang, CUP (2000)
Advances in Quantum Cryptography (review), Priandola et al here (for QKD lectures)
Further references for the intro part can be found at the IQC lectures in the link here
| Week | Date | Lecture # / Lecturer | Topic | Reading |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 13-Jan-2026 | 1. Petros | Introduction to QCS | No reading for examinable material. |
| 13-Jan-2026 | 2. Petros | Introduction to Quantum Information I: The ideal life of a qubit Lecture 2: The one qubit system | Quantum states and Hilbert space NC 1.2, 2.1.1-2.1.4 Single qubits gates NC 1.3.1 and NC 4.2 Adjoint (Hermitian conjugate) NC 2.1.6 Outer-product NC 2.1.4 page 67 Projective measurement NC 2.2.5 Global phase NC 2.2.7 | |
| 2 | 20-Jan-2026 | 3. Petros | Quantum Key Distribution I: Motivation and BB84 protocol Lecture 3: QKD I, motivation and BB84 | Advances in Quantum Cryptography (review), Priandola et al here (for QKD lectures) |
| 22-Jan-2026 | 4. Petros | Introduction to Quantum Information II Lecture 4: Quantum Information Part II: General states | Tensor product NC 2.1.7 Density matrices NC 2.4 Intro to Quantum Cryptography, Chapter 2 | |
| 3 | 27-Jan-2026 | 5. Petros | Introduction to Quantum Information III Lecture 5 Quantum Information Part III: Generalised measurements, POVM and noiseless quantum operations | Generalised measurements, POVM paradigm, quantum evolutions and unitary operators, entangling operators NC: 2.2 Intro to Quantum Cryptography, Chapter 2: 2.3 |
| Tutorial 1 | Tutorial 1 Solutions 1 | |||
| 29-Jan-2026 | 6. Petros | Introduction to Quantum Information IV Lecture 6 Quantum Information Part VI: Quantum channels and noisy quantum evolutions | CPTP maps, concept of noisy channels, purification, Schmidt decomposition Quantum channel examples NC 8.3 Purification and Schmidt decomposition NC 2.5 Intro to Quantum Cryptography, Chapter 4: 4.2 | |
| 4 | 3-Feb-2026 | 7. Petros | Introduction to Quantum Information V: Entropies and Distances Lecture 7 Entropies and Distances | Shannon entropy NC 11.1 Von Neumann entropy NC 11.1 and 11.2 Quantum entropies NC 11.3 Classical-quantum state: 11.3.2 (Theorem 11.8 point 5) Trace Distance and Fidelity NC 9.1 and 9.2 |
| Tutorial 2 | Tutorial 2 Solutions 2 | |||
| 5-Feb-2026 | 8. Petros | QKD II: BB84 Formal Security Proof Lecture 8 BB84 Security Proof | ||
| 5 | 10-Feb-2026 | 9. Petros | QKD III: Other protocols Lecture 9: Other protocols | Intro to Quantum Cryptography, Chapter 3 |
| NO TUTORIAL | ||||
| 12-Feb-2026 | NO LECTURE | |||
| FLW | 16-Feb - 20-Feb 2026 | No classes. Flexible Learning Week | ||
| 6 | 24-Feb-2026 | 10. Petros | Quantum Key Distribution IV: Device Independence Lecture 10: DI QKD | Advances in Quantum Cryptography (review), Priandola et al here (for QKD lectures) |
| Tutorial 3 | Tutorial 3 Solutions 3 | |||
| 26-Feb-2026 | 11. Petros | Secure Two-Parties Functionalities Lecture 11: Secure 2-Parties Functionalities | ||
| 7 | 3-Mar-2026 | 12. Petros | Quantum Coin-Flipping Lecture 12: Quantum coin flipping | |
| Tutorial 4 | Revision Tutorial (no new questions, tutorial 5 will be solved next week) | |||
| 5-Mar-2026 | 13. Petros | Quantum Encryption and Quantum Authentication Lecture 13: Quantum Encryption and Quantum Authentication | ||
| 8 | 6-Mar-2026 | Assignment | Coursework Questions Coursework Solutions | See course Learn page for details Deadline: Friday 20th March 2026, at 12:00 |
| 10-Mar-2026 | 14. Petros | Postquantum Cryptography I: Introduction and quantum access to classical systems Lecture 14: Postquantum Cryptography I | ||
| Tutorial 5 | Tutorial 5 Solutions 5 | |||
| 12-Mar-2026 | 15. Petros | Postquantum Cryptography II: Lattices -- Regev's cryptosystem Lecture 15: Postquantum Cryptography II | ||
| 9 | 17-Mar-2026 | 16. Petros | Postquantum Cryptography III: Lattices -- NTRU cryptosystem Lecture 16: Postquantum Cryptography III | |
| Tutorial 6 | Tutorial 6 Solutions 6 | |||
| 19-Mar-2026 | 17. Petros | Teleportation, no-cloning, monogamy of entanglement Lecture 17: Properties of quantum systems and cryptography | ||
| 20-Mar-2026 | Assignment due | Friday 20th March 2026, at 12:00 | See course Learn page for details | |
| 10 | 24-Mar-2026 | 18. Petros | Revision session for exams Lecture 18: Revision Material and Q & A session | |
| 26-Mar-2026 | 19. Petros | Replacement/Cover (if required) | ||