๐Ÿ“Š Quantum States

Master the mathematical representation of quantum information

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Bloch Sphere Visualization

Mathematical Foundation

๐Ÿ”ข What is a Quantum State?

A quantum state is a mathematical description of a quantum system. For qubits, we use state vectors in a complex vector space to represent all possible configurations and their amplitudes.

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Dirac Notation

We use "ket" notation |ฯˆโŸฉ to represent quantum statesโ€”a shorthand invented by physicist Paul Dirac for quantum mechanics

๐Ÿ“Š State Vector Representation

A single qubit state is represented as a linear combination of basis states:

|ฯˆโŸฉ = ฮฑ|0โŸฉ + ฮฒ|1โŸฉ
ฮฑ (alpha)
Complex amplitude for |0โŸฉ
ฮฒ (beta)
Complex amplitude for |1โŸฉ
Normalization: |ฮฑ|ยฒ + |ฮฒ|ยฒ = 1

๐ŸŽฏ Key Properties

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Complex Amplitudes

Amplitudes are complex numbers with magnitude and phase

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Normalization

Sum of squared magnitudes equals 1 (total probability = 100%)

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Superposition

States can be linear combinations of multiple basis states

๐Ÿ“ Matrix Representation

State vectors can also be written as column matrices:

State |0โŸฉ
[1]
[0]
State |1โŸฉ
[0]
[1]
State |+โŸฉ
[1/โˆš2]
[1/โˆš2]

๐Ÿ’ก Why This Matters

Understanding state vectors is fundamental to quantum computing. They're the "data" that quantum algorithms manipulate, and mastering their mathematical representation is essential for designing and analyzing quantum circuits.