Summary

In this chapter, we learned the key principles of quantum mechanics, starting with a review of the basic elements of linear algebra, followed by an introduction to Dirac notations.

We then covered the main postulates of quantum mechanics and their relevance to quantum computing. We learned how to describe the state (statics) and the evolution (dynamics) of a closed system, the interactions of a system with external systems (measurement), observables, as well as the state of a composite system in terms of its component parts.

We finally introduced the density operator, which allows us to describe both pure and mixed quantum states, contrasting with the state vector, which can only represent pure quantum states.

In the next chapter, we will look at an application of the principles of quantum mechanics to analog quantum computing – quantum annealing.