Quantum Computing Using Crossed Atomic Beams

A quantum computer is a hypothetical device in which the laws of quantum mechanics are used to introduce a degree of parallelism into computations and which could therefore significantly improve on the computational speed of a classical computer at certain tasks. Cluster state quantum computing (recently proposed by Raussendorf and Briegel) is a new paradigm in quantum information processing and is a departure from the conventional model of quantum computation. The cluster state quantum computer begins by creating a highly entangled multi-particle state (the cluster state) which it uses as a quantum resource during the computation. Information is processed in the computer via selected measurements on individual qubits that form the cluster state. We describe in detail how a scalable quantum computer can be constructed using microwave cavity QED and, in a departure from the traditional understanding of a computer as a fixed array of computational elements, we show that cluster state quantum computing is well suited to atomic beam experiments. We show that all of the necessary elements have been individually realised, and that the construction of a truly scalable atomic beam quantum computer may be an experimental reality in the near future.