Master Quantum Engineering

PSL’s quantum engineering programme is a 2-year program that provides cutting-edge training. It is spread over two years and 120 ECTS, requesting full-time studies. 

Quantum technologies are a strategic global topic for academia and industry. These disruptive technologies have the potential to revolutionise the design and implementation of information and communication sciences and technologies. France is investing nearly €2 billion in this field over the next four years.

A new interdisciplinary training programme in quantum technologies has been launched by PSL University in September 2022. It results from an unprecedented synergy between some of its founding schools, namely: Ecole normale supérieure, ESPCI Paris, Mines Paris, École nationale supérieure de Chimie de Paris - PSL and the Observatoire de Paris, and it is part of PSL’s graduate programme in physics.


The academic year is divided into two semesters.

  • Semester 1: Courses and Practicums (30 ECTS).
  • Semester 2 : Internship in France or abroad for the first year (30 ECTS).
Master ICFP

The ICFP  Master is a top-level program designed specifically for the best French and international students.

By choosing the École normale supérieure (ENS), students are assured of benefiting from the prestigious teaching that has made the ENS's reputation since its creation in 1794.

Quantum information combines quantum physics and information theory, leading to a conceptual shift in both disciplines. By implementing quantum protocols in physical systems and reformulating quantum physics in terms of information and logical operations, we gain powerful tools to investigate the distinctive features of quantum mechanics - such as its divergence from classical physics and the nature of the quantum-to-classical transition.

 

In 2025 the lectures will be taught in English, the TDs are in French.

Ce cours est la continuation directe de "Introduction à la mécanique quantique I".

Nous aborderons la mécanique quantique d'une particule dans l'espace à trois dimensions, ce qui nous amène à l'étude du moment cinétique qui est étroitement lié aux rotations de l'espace. Nous étudierons les problèmes avec un potentiel central en général, et l'atome d'hydrogène en particulier. On abordera les particules chargés dans un champ électromagnétique, l'invariance de jauge, les niveaux de Landau, et comment la limite non-relativiste de l'équation de Dirac donne lieu à l'équation de Pauli-Schrödinger. Ensuite l'addition des moments cinétiques sera étudiée en détail.  Les particules identiques, bosons et fermions, seront introduites. Finalement, le rôle important des symétries sera abordé, en commençant par une rapide introduction aux groupes et algèbres de Lie, puis en déduisant les règles de transition qui en résultent.

Starting 2024 the lectures will be in English. The TDs will still be in French. See below for the course description in English.

Ce cours donne une introduction aux principes de base de la mécanique quantique. 

Nous commencerons par une étude détaillée des systèmes à deux états (spin 1/2, qbit,...). Cela permettra de bien comprendre les principes de la mécanique quantique sans formalisme mathématique compliqué, et de voir des applications importantes comme le maser ou la résonance magnétique. 

Ensuite nous étudierons en détail des systèmes composés de plusieurs de ces systèmes à deux états (N spins 1/2, N qbits, ...). On verra la notion importante d'états intriqués, les inégalités de Bell, le théorème de non-clonage et le protocol de télé-portation quantique, ainsi que le calcul ZX pour la simplification des circuits quantiques. 

Dans la deuxième moitié du cours nous aborderons la description d'une particule évoluant dans l'espace et dans un potentiel. Après l'introduction des notions mathématiques (espace de Hilbert de dimension infinie, opérateurs auto-adjoints et théorème spectral, transformée de Fourier, et l'explication détaillée des bases impropres x et p) on abordera l'étude de quelques systèmes simples à une dimension comme les marches de potentiel et l'omniprésent oscillateur harmonique. Nous terminerons par la théorie des perturbations.

L'étude des systèmes à 3 dimensions, du moment cinétique et des problèmes à potentiel central sera réservé au deuxième cours au printemps.

Ce cours sera accompagné par des notes écrites détaillées (en anglais).

Le cours est complété par des travaux dirigés (en français) où sont traités de nombreux exemples, le plus souvent inspirés par des données expérimentales.

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English version :

These lectures are an introduction to the fundamental concepts and applications of quantum mechanics.

We begin with a detailed study of two-state systems (spin 1/2, qbit, etc). This will allow us to understand  the principles of quantum mechanics without having to deal with any complicated mathematical formalism. It will also allow us to discuss some important applications such as the maser or magnetic resonance.

Then we consider systems composed of several  2-state systems (N spin 1/2, N qbits, etc). We will see the important notion of entangled states, Bell's inequalities, the no-cloning theorem and the quantum teleportation protocol, as well as the ZX calculus that plays an important role in quantum circuit simplification.

The second half of these lectures is devoted to the quantum mechanical treatment of a particle that evolves in space in some potential. A long chapter will introduce the necessary mathematical concepts (Hilbert space of infinite dimension, self-adjoint operators and spectral theorem, Fourier transform, as well as a detailed discussion of the generalised basis' of position or momentum eigenstates). Then we discuss a few simple systems of a particle in one spatial dimension, like the potential well, the tunnel effect and, of course, the ubiquitous harmonic oscillator. This part ends with stationary and time-dependent perturbation theory.

The study of systems in 3 spatial dimensions, the angular moment, and central potential problems will be dealt with (among others) in the second course in the spring.

There are detailed lecture notes in English for this course.

In addition to the lectures, there are exercise sessions (in French) during which numerous applications and examples are treated, often inspired by experiment and real experimental data.

Bess Fang, Franck Pereira dos Santos & Tarik Yefsah

Gerbold Ménard, Arthur Marguerite

Jérôme Lodewyck

A case study is a lecture on three hours only aiming is to tell the complete “story” of a quantum device or a quantum effect from the discovery or realsation to today’s impact on the scientific community and even to society. The challenge is to be exhaustive within the time limit, i.e. to give the theoretical basis, describe the quantum nature of the effect and explain how it is possible to measure it.

A few examples to give you an idea of what it is about are: Superconducting Quantum Interference Device (SQUID), single-photon detection, a concrete example of light trapping (atoms, dielectric spheres, etc.), the Aharonov-Bohm effect, quantum cascade lasers,...

The aim is to illustrate a concrete case that demonstrates the quantum effect and makes it visible, bearing in mind that the lecture has to be adapted for the knowelefge of M1 students.

Bess Fang & Franck Pereira dos Santos