QuTiP with Paul Nation

Summary The future of computation and our understanding of the world around us is driven by the quantum world. This week Paul Nation explains how the Quantum Toolbox in Python (QuTiP) is being used in research projects that are expanding our knowledge of the physical universe. Preface Hello and welcome to Podcast.__init__, the podcast about Python and the people who make it great. I would like to thank everyone who supports us on Patreon. Your contributions help to make the show sustainable. When you’re ready to launch your next project you’ll need somewhere to deploy it. Check out Linode at www.podastinit.com/linode?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss and get a $20 credit to try out their fast and reliable Linux virtual servers for running your awesome app. Need to learn more about how to scale your apps or learn new techniques for building them? Pluralsight has the training and mentoring you need to level up your skills. Go to www.pythonpodcast.com/pluralsight?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss to start your free trial today. Visit the site to subscribe to the show, sign up for the newsletter, read the show notes, and get in touch. To help other people find the show please leave a review on iTunes, or Google Play Music, tell your friends and co-workers, and share it on social media. If you work with data for your job or want to learn more about how open source is powering the latest innovations in data science then make your way to the Open Data Science Conference, happening in London in October and San Francisco in November. Follow the links in the show notes to register and help support the show in the process. Your host as usual is Tobias Macey and today I’m interviewing Paul Nation about QuTIP, the quantum toolbox in Python. Interview Introductions How did you get introduced to Python? Before we start talking about QuTiP, can you provide us with a baseline definition of what quantum mechanics is? What is QuTIP and how did the project get started? Is QuTiP used purely in academics, or are there other users? What are some of the practical innovations that have been created as a result of research into different areas of quantum optics? How do you foresee the advent of practical quantum computers impacting the state of quantum mechanical research? Given the inherent complexity of the subject matter that you are dealing with, how do you approach the challenge of trying to present a usable API to users of QuTiP while not inhibiting their ability to operate at a low level when necessary? What is the process for incorporating new understandings of quantum mechanical theory into the QuTiP package? What are some of the most difficult aspects of simulating quantum systems in a standard computational environment? What is the most enjoyable aspect of working on QuTiP, what is the least enjoyable? What are some of the most notable research results that you are aware of which used QuTiP as part of their studies? What are some resources that you can recommend for anyone who wants to learn more about quantum mechanics? Keep In Touch QuTiP QuSTaR Picks Tobias edx.org Paul Cython Matplotlib Cheyenne Mountain Zoo Links Quantum Optics 2 Level System Complex Numbers Qubit Quantum Computing Harmonic Oscillator Nature Scientific Journal IBM Quantum Experience D-Wave Rigetti Quantum Computing Quantum Supremacy Hamiltonian Sparse Matrix Richard Feynman Dask Project Q Quantum State Transfer via Noisy Photonic and Phononic Waveguides paper by Peter Zoller Extending the lifetime of a quantum bit with error correction in superconducting circuits paper by Rob Shoelkopf (Yale) QuTiP Documentation The intro and outro music is from Requiem for a Fish The Freak Fandango Orchestra / CC BY-SA