Chapter 25 Further Reading: Quantum Information and Computation

Tier 1: Essential References

These are the primary references that cover the material of this chapter at a level closely matching our treatment. You should consult at least one.

Nielsen, M. A. & Chuang, I. L. — Quantum Computation and Quantum Information, 10th Anniversary ed. (2010)

The definitive textbook on quantum information science. Covers everything in this chapter and far more: quantum circuits (Ch 4), the quantum Fourier transform and Shor's algorithm (Ch 5), Grover's algorithm (Ch 6), quantum error correction (Ch 10), and physical implementations (Ch 7). Often called "Mike and Ike" by the community. This is to quantum computing what Griffiths is to quantum mechanics — the book everyone reads first.

  • Best for: Comprehensive reference covering the full breadth of quantum information theory. The mathematical treatment is rigorous but accessible.

Preskill, J. — Quantum Computing in the NISQ Era and Beyond, arXiv:1801.00862 (2018)

Preskill's influential article coining the term "NISQ" (Noisy Intermediate-Scale Quantum) and laying out the landscape of near-term quantum computing. Essential reading for understanding the current state of the field and the gap between theory and practice.

  • Best for: Context on where the field stands and realistic assessment of near-term prospects.

Griffiths, D. J. & Schroeter, D. F. — Introduction to Quantum Mechanics, 3rd ed. (2018)

While Griffiths does not cover quantum computing in depth, the spin-1/2 formalism in Chapter 4 provides the physical foundation for the qubit. The treatment of entanglement and Bell's inequality (also Chapter 12 in the 3rd edition) complements our Chapter 24.

  • Best for: Reviewing the physical basis of the qubit — spin-1/2, Pauli matrices, Stern-Gerlach.

Mermin, N. D. — Quantum Computer Science: An Introduction (2007)

A quantum computing textbook written by a physicist for physicists. Mermin is a masterful expositor, and his treatment of quantum algorithms is exceptionally clear. Notable for its emphasis on understanding what quantum computers can and cannot do.

  • Best for: Physicists who want a rigorous but intuitive introduction to quantum computing without the computer science formalism.

Rieffel, E. G. & Polak, W. H. — Quantum Computing: A Gentle Introduction (2011)

Lives up to its name. A clear, careful introduction that develops the mathematics from scratch. Good treatment of Deutsch-Jozsa, Grover, and Shor with many worked examples.

  • Best for: Students who want a slower-paced development with more intermediate steps.

Tier 2: Supplementary and Enrichment

Textbooks and Monographs

Kaye, P., Laflamme, R., & Mosca, M. — An Introduction to Quantum Computing (2007) Another excellent textbook, with particularly clear treatments of quantum error correction and the quantum Fourier transform. The authors are leading researchers in the field.

Wilde, M. M. — Quantum Information Theory, 2nd ed. (2017) A more advanced and mathematical treatment. Covers quantum Shannon theory, entanglement measures, and quantum channel capacity. For students interested in the information-theoretic foundations.

Aaronson, S. — Quantum Computing since Democritus (2013) Based on Aaronson's popular lecture notes. A unique blend of computer science, physics, and philosophy. Aaronson is one of the sharpest thinkers on what quantum computers can and cannot do. Entertaining and intellectually rigorous.

Hidary, J. D. — Quantum Computing: An Applied Approach, 2nd ed. (2021) A practically-oriented textbook with code examples in Qiskit, Cirq, and other frameworks. Good for students who want to run quantum algorithms on real hardware.

Quantum Algorithms

Shor, P. W. — "Algorithms for quantum computation: discrete logarithms and factoring," Proceedings of the 35th Annual Symposium on Foundations of Computer Science, pp. 124-134 (1994) Shor's original paper. Readable and elegant. A landmark in both computer science and physics.

Grover, L. K. — "A fast quantum mechanical algorithm for database search," Proceedings of the 28th Annual ACM Symposium on Theory of Computing, pp. 212-219 (1996) Grover's original paper. Remarkably short and clear.

Deutsch, D. & Jozsa, R. — "Rapid solution of problems by quantum computation," Proceedings of the Royal Society A, 439, pp. 553-558 (1992) The original Deutsch-Jozsa paper. Historically important as the first demonstration of exponential quantum speedup.

Bennett, C. H., Bernstein, E., Brassard, G., & Vazirani, U. — "Strengths and weaknesses of quantum computing," SIAM Journal on Computing, 26(5), pp. 1510-1523 (1997) Proves the optimality of Grover's algorithm and discusses the limits of quantum speedup.

Brassard, G., Hoyer, P., Mosca, M., & Tapp, A. — "Quantum amplitude amplification and estimation," AMS Contemporary Mathematics, 305, pp. 53-74 (2002) Generalizes Grover's algorithm to amplitude amplification. The key reference for the general technique.

Quantum Error Correction

Shor, P. W. — "Scheme for reducing decoherence in quantum computer memory," Physical Review A, 52, R2493 (1995) The original 9-qubit quantum error-correcting code.

Steane, A. M. — "Error correcting codes in quantum theory," Physical Review Letters, 77, 793 (1996) The Steane 7-qubit code and the beginning of the theory of CSS codes.

Gottesman, D. — "Stabilizer codes and quantum error correction," PhD thesis, Caltech (1997), arXiv:quant-ph/9705052 The stabilizer formalism — the modern framework for quantum error correction. Essential reading for anyone pursuing quantum error correction.

Fowler, A. G., Mariantoni, M., Martinis, J. M., & Cleland, A. N. — "Surface codes: towards practical large-scale quantum computation," Physical Review A, 86, 032324 (2012) The standard reference for surface codes, the leading candidate for practical quantum error correction.

Quantum Hardware

Devoret, M. H. & Schoelkopf, R. J. — "Superconducting circuits for quantum information: an outlook," Science, 339, pp. 1169-1174 (2013) An excellent review of superconducting qubit technology by two of its pioneers.

Bruzewicz, C. D., Chiaverini, J., McConnell, R., & Sage, J. M. — "Trapped-ion quantum computing: progress and challenges," Applied Physics Reviews, 6, 021314 (2019) A comprehensive review of trapped ion quantum computing.

Arute, F. et al. — "Quantum supremacy using a programmable superconducting processor," Nature, 574, pp. 505-510 (2019) Google's quantum supremacy paper. A milestone experiment, regardless of subsequent debate about the classical cost.

Acharya, R. et al. — "Quantum error correction below the surface code threshold," Nature, 638, pp. 920-926 (2025) Google's Willow processor demonstrating below-threshold error correction. A major step toward fault-tolerant quantum computing.

Aaronson, S. — Blog: "Shtetl-Optimized" (https://scottaaronson.blog/) The most authoritative and entertaining blog on quantum computing by one of the field's leading theorists. Aaronson regularly debunks hype and clarifies misconceptions.

Preskill, J. — Lecture notes for Physics 219: Quantum Computation (Caltech) Available at http://theory.caltech.edu/~preskill/ph219/. Graduate-level lecture notes that are remarkably clear and comprehensive. Free and regularly updated.

Susskind, L. & Friedman, A. — Quantum Mechanics: The Theoretical Minimum (2014) While not a quantum computing textbook, Susskind's treatment of the qubit as the fundamental quantum system provides excellent physical intuition.

Tier 3: Online Resources

Interactive Platforms

IBM Quantum Experience (https://quantum.ibm.com/) Free cloud access to real quantum computers. Run circuits using the drag-and-drop Composer or the Qiskit Python SDK. The best way to experience quantum computing hands-on.

Qiskit Textbook (https://qiskit.org/learn/) An open-source interactive textbook with Jupyter notebooks. Covers quantum circuits, algorithms (Grover, Shor, VQE), and error correction with runnable code.

Quirk (https://algassert.com/quirk) A drag-and-drop quantum circuit simulator in the browser. Excellent for building intuition about how gates transform states. Shows the statevector in real time.

Video Lectures

MIT OpenCourseWare — 8.370/18.435: Quantum Computation (Various years) Prof. Peter Shor's lectures on quantum computation at MIT. The creator of Shor's algorithm teaching quantum algorithms — it does not get better than this.

Qiskit Global Summer School (YouTube) Annual lecture series by IBM researchers covering quantum computing from basics to advanced topics. High production quality, practical focus.

Lecture by Scott Aaronson: "Quantum Computing and the Limits of the Efficiently Computable" (YouTube) A masterful public lecture that explains what quantum computers can and cannot do without technical prerequisites.

Reading Strategy

For Chapter 25, we recommend:

  1. Everyone: Read Mermin's Quantum Computer Science, Chapters 1-3, for a physicist's perspective on qubits, gates, and circuits.
  2. For the algorithms: Read Nielsen & Chuang, Chapters 5 (Shor) and 6 (Grover). These are the definitive treatments.
  3. For hands-on experience: Work through the Qiskit Textbook's chapters on Grover and Shor, running circuits on IBM Quantum.
  4. For the big picture: Read Preskill's NISQ paper and Aaronson's blog for an honest assessment of where the field stands.
  5. For error correction (preview of Ch 35): Read Fowler et al. on surface codes for the engineering perspective.
  6. For hardware: Read the Google supremacy paper (Arute et al., 2019) and the Willow error correction paper (Acharya et al., 2025) for the state of the art.