The assessment for the unit is composed of four problem sets, a written report, and the final examination. Regular attendance is expected, with exceptions granted for valid reasons communicated in advance.

Written Assignments (40%)

Four take-home assignments of problem sets will be set and marked for assessment purposes and issued approximately once every two weeks. Worked solutions will be provided to problem sets after the due date. These problem sets are excellent preparation for the final examination, and our strong experience is that students who engage with the problem-solving tasks do well in the unit overall. 

Academic integrity 

Informal group discussion regarding the material connected to problem-set questions is encouraged, but each student must independently develop and write up their own solutions. Do not hesitate to seek help from the lecturing team if you are having difficulties with the assigned problems. All students must comply with the academic integrity policy by preparing and submitting their answers independently. To ensure compliance interviews with selected students may be conducted where there is undue similarity in submitted solutions.

Breaches of the academic integrity policy may lead to sanctions that may include, but are not limited to, award of a failure grade for the unit and/or temporary suspension form studies. In cases determined by law the University has a legal obligation to disclose the applied sanctions to outside parties, including certain employers.

Extensions

Extension for the assignments may be requested well in advance with a suitable justification. No extensions to the assignment due dates will be granted within 48 hours of the original due date.

Report (20%)

A wriiten report should be produced that involves numerical computation on some topic in quantum many body information relevant to the course content. Examples of reports from prior offerings will be provided as will example topics. For numerical comptuation you may use any software package you prefer but the report should be completed using Latex.

Final examination (40%)

There will be a 3 hour end-of-session exam to be held online. It is open book but no collaboration with other students is allowed. 

You are expected to make yourself available for the final examination at the time designated in the University examination timetable. If you receive special consideration for the final exam, a supplementary exam will be scheduled during the supplementary exam period. By making a special consideration application for the final exam you are declaring yourself available for a resit during the supplementary examination period and will not be eligible for a second special consideration approval based on pre-existing commitments. Please ensure you are familiar with the policy prior to submitting an application. Approved applicants will receive an individual notification one week prior to the exam with the exact date and time of their supplementary examination.

Late Assessment Submission Penalty 

Late Assessment Submission Penalty From 1 July 2022, Students enrolled in Session based units with written assessments will have the following university standard late penalty applied. Please see https://students.mq.edu.au/study/assessment-exams/assessments for more information. Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, a 5% penalty (of the total possible mark) will be applied each day a written assessment is not submitted, up until the 7th day (including weekends). After the 7th day, a grade of '0' will be awarded even if the assessment is submitted. Submission time for all written assessments is set at 11:55 pm. A 1-hour grace period is provided to students who experience a technical concern. For any late submission of time-sensitive tasks, such as scheduled tests/exams, performance assessments/presentations, and/or scheduled practical assessments/labs, students need to submit an application for Special Consideration. Assessments where Late Submissions will be accepted In this unit, late submissions will accepted as follows:

• Assessment Written assignments – YES, Standard Late Penalty applies

• Assessment Report – YES, Standard Late Penalty applies

• Assessment Final exam - NO, unless Special Consideration is Granted

Requirements to Pass this Unit

To pass this unit you must: Achieve a total mark equal to or greater than 50%.

Classes

Classes are schedule Mondays 3-5pm and Thursdays 3-5pm (subject to change as best suits the students and lecturer). 

Mode of delivery

Content will be delivered through online lectures and online SGTA (Small Group Teaching Activities) (two 2 hour sessions per week)

Recommended reading

Notes for the course and recommended reading will be available on iLearn. There is no recommended text. Lectures will be delivered online and recorded with links provided.

Technologies Used

Zoom for online lectures and SGTA (Small Group Teaching Activities). For the written report with numerical comptuation you may use any software package you prefer for the numerics but the report should be completed using Latex.

Covid Information

For the latest information on the University’s response to COVID-19, please refer to the Coronavirus infection page on the Macquarie website: https://www.mq.edu.au/about/coronavirus-faqs. Remember to check this page regularly in case the information and requirements change during semester. If there are any changes to this unit in relation to COVID, these will be communicated via iLearn

Week 1: Stabilizer states, graph states

Week 2: Properties of quantum mechanical entropy, methods of calculation

Week 3: Area law behaviour, topologically ordered matter

Week 4: Bosonic systems 1

Week 5: Bosonic systems 2

Week 6: Fermionic systems 1

Week 7: Fermionic systems 2

Week 8: Majorana fermions

Week 9: Anyonic systems, topological quantum computing

Week 10: Finitely correlated states

Week 11: Tensor networks 1

Week 12: Tensor networks 2

Week 13: Summary