4 ms·

Now I have questions about the Oxford postgraduate quantum physics exam :)

by kitd 2y ago

sesm 2y ago
Exactly, how can one pass a postgraduate level exam 'without complex math'?
- tzs 2y ago
  It didn't say their exam was an entire postgraduate exam. It said they passed an exam consisting of questions from a postgraduate exam. I'd guess that if someone tried to take the entire exam it would include things that do require "complex math" (whatever that is). But you don't have to get to the parts of QM that require such math in order to cover things that exhibit the meat of QM, such as superposition, entanglement, and uncertainty principles. I'd guess that it was those kinds of things covered for these students and that is what they were tested on.
- elashri 2y ago
  I have doubt that anyone with a high school maths would even understand any of these (2023 MSc QM level Oxford exam) [1] . but reading the original source on the study [2] it seems like it is not this or any of what we expect. > This article is concerned with a new language for quantum, to which we refer as quantum picturalism (QPict) [5]. It is the subject of two books written by some of the authors, respectively entitled Picturing Quantum Processes [10] and Quantum in Pictures (QiP) [9]. The first one is the text book of an Oxford University postgraduate course that has been running for well over ten years now. The second one, remarkably, has no mathematical prerequisites beyond what is already taught to 6-7 year olds in the UK, namely angles [1] https://mmathphys.physics.ox.ac.uk/sitefiles/advanced-quantum-theory.pdf https://mmathphys.physics.ox.ac.uk/sitefiles/advanced-quantu... [2] https://oxford24.github.io/assets/act-papers/49_high_schoolers_excel_at_oxford.pdf https://oxford24.github.io/assets/act-papers/49_high_schoole...
  - deleted 2y ago
    [deleted]
  - mncharity 2y ago
    Quantum Picturalism: Learning Quantum Theory in High School https://arxiv.org/pdf/2312.03653 https://arxiv.org/pdf/2312.03653 seems a longer version. That QPict Quantum picturalism (2009) paper is https://arxiv.org/pdf/0908.1787 https://arxiv.org/pdf/0908.1787 . Picturing quantum processes - A first course in quantum theory and diagrammatic reasoning (2017) is https://www.cs.ox.ac.uk/people/aleks.kissinger/PQP.pdf https://www.cs.ox.ac.uk/people/aleks.kissinger/PQP.pdf (900+ pages; only 24 MB). Slides accessible: https://www.cs.ox.ac.uk/ss2014/programme/Bob.pdf https://www.cs.ox.ac.uk/ss2014/programme/Bob.pdf ; slides technical: https://www.cs.ox.ac.uk/people/aleks.kissinger/slides/pdf/ak-vaxjo.pdf https://www.cs.ox.ac.uk/people/aleks.kissinger/slides/pdf/ak... . Quantum in Pictures (2022) does not appear to be available open access.
  - mncharity 2y ago
    > it is not this or any of what we expect String diagrams of category theory potentially make working with invariants easier by embedding them in graphical transformations, so they "just maintain themselves". Eg, electric circuit laws.[2] Or here, ZX-calculus/diagrams for QM.[3] [2] https://arxiv.org/pdf/2106.07763 https://arxiv.org/pdf/2106.07763 [3] Medium article: https://medium.com/quantinuum/how-zx-calculus-reveals-the-logic-and-processes-of-quantum-mechanics-to-everyone-944fc3bbbb2c https://medium.com/quantinuum/how-zx-calculus-reveals-the-lo... ; A taste (guest lecture notes): https://arxiv.org/pdf/2303.03163 https://arxiv.org/pdf/2303.03163 ; old slides https://www.cs.ox.ac.uk/people/aleks.kissinger/slides/pdf/ak-vaxjo.pdf https://www.cs.ox.ac.uk/people/aleks.kissinger/slides/pdf/ak... ; ZX-calculus for the working quantum computer scientist (2020; 90+ pages) https://arxiv.org/pdf/2012.13966 https://arxiv.org/pdf/2012.13966
  - ValentinA23 2y ago
    https://x.com/coecke/status/1630551781624238081 https://x.com/coecke/status/1630551781624238081 Major milestone for ZX-alike calculi: now for all finite dimensions, with completeness theorem. I.e. for all dimensions any equation derivable using Hilbert space maths, is derivable with pictures! ZXW moreover allows for differentiation, integration and exponentiation. One of the high school student went on publishing a paper applying what he learned during the course, but I can't find it anymore.

Now I have questions about the Oxford postgraduate quantum physics exam :)

by kitd 2y ago

Now I have questions about the Oxford postgraduate quantum physics exam :)

sesm 2y ago

Exactly, how can one pass a postgraduate level exam 'without complex math'?

tzs 2y ago
It didn't say their exam was an entire postgraduate exam. It said they passed an exam consisting of questions from a postgraduate exam. I'd guess that if someone tried to take the entire exam it would include things that do require "complex math" (whatever that is). But you don't have to get to the parts of QM that require such math in order to cover things that exhibit the meat of QM, such as superposition, entanglement, and uncertainty principles. I'd guess that it was those kinds of things covered for these students and that is what they were tested on.
elashri 2y ago
I have doubt that anyone with a high school maths would even understand any of these (2023 MSc QM level Oxford exam) [1] . but reading the original source on the study [2] it seems like it is not this or any of what we expect. > This article is concerned with a new language for quantum, to which we refer as quantum picturalism (QPict) [5]. It is the subject of two books written by some of the authors, respectively entitled Picturing Quantum Processes [10] and Quantum in Pictures (QiP) [9]. The first one is the text book of an Oxford University postgraduate course that has been running for well over ten years now. The second one, remarkably, has no mathematical prerequisites beyond what is already taught to 6-7 year olds in the UK, namely angles [1] https://mmathphys.physics.ox.ac.uk/sitefiles/advanced-quantum-theory.pdf https://mmathphys.physics.ox.ac.uk/sitefiles/advanced-quantu... [2] https://oxford24.github.io/assets/act-papers/49_high_schoolers_excel_at_oxford.pdf https://oxford24.github.io/assets/act-papers/49_high_schoole...
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- mncharity 2y ago
  Quantum Picturalism: Learning Quantum Theory in High School https://arxiv.org/pdf/2312.03653 https://arxiv.org/pdf/2312.03653 seems a longer version. That QPict Quantum picturalism (2009) paper is https://arxiv.org/pdf/0908.1787 https://arxiv.org/pdf/0908.1787 . Picturing quantum processes - A first course in quantum theory and diagrammatic reasoning (2017) is https://www.cs.ox.ac.uk/people/aleks.kissinger/PQP.pdf https://www.cs.ox.ac.uk/people/aleks.kissinger/PQP.pdf (900+ pages; only 24 MB). Slides accessible: https://www.cs.ox.ac.uk/ss2014/programme/Bob.pdf https://www.cs.ox.ac.uk/ss2014/programme/Bob.pdf ; slides technical: https://www.cs.ox.ac.uk/people/aleks.kissinger/slides/pdf/ak-vaxjo.pdf https://www.cs.ox.ac.uk/people/aleks.kissinger/slides/pdf/ak... . Quantum in Pictures (2022) does not appear to be available open access.
- mncharity 2y ago
  > it is not this or any of what we expect String diagrams of category theory potentially make working with invariants easier by embedding them in graphical transformations, so they "just maintain themselves". Eg, electric circuit laws.[2] Or here, ZX-calculus/diagrams for QM.[3] [2] https://arxiv.org/pdf/2106.07763 https://arxiv.org/pdf/2106.07763 [3] Medium article: https://medium.com/quantinuum/how-zx-calculus-reveals-the-logic-and-processes-of-quantum-mechanics-to-everyone-944fc3bbbb2c https://medium.com/quantinuum/how-zx-calculus-reveals-the-lo... ; A taste (guest lecture notes): https://arxiv.org/pdf/2303.03163 https://arxiv.org/pdf/2303.03163 ; old slides https://www.cs.ox.ac.uk/people/aleks.kissinger/slides/pdf/ak-vaxjo.pdf https://www.cs.ox.ac.uk/people/aleks.kissinger/slides/pdf/ak... ; ZX-calculus for the working quantum computer scientist (2020; 90+ pages) https://arxiv.org/pdf/2012.13966 https://arxiv.org/pdf/2012.13966
- ValentinA23 2y ago
  https://x.com/coecke/status/1630551781624238081 https://x.com/coecke/status/1630551781624238081 Major milestone for ZX-alike calculi: now for all finite dimensions, with completeness theorem. I.e. for all dimensions any equation derivable using Hilbert space maths, is derivable with pictures! ZXW moreover allows for differentiation, integration and exponentiation. One of the high school student went on publishing a paper applying what he learned during the course, but I can't find it anymore.