Title: A tale of Turing machines, quantum entangled particles, and operator algebras

Abstract: In a recent result known as “MIP* = RE”, ideas from three disparate fields of study — computational complexity theory, quantum information, and operator algebras — have come together to simultaneously resolve long-standing open problems in each field, including a 44-year old mystery in mathematics known as Connes’ Embedding Problem. In this talk, I will describe the evolution and convergence of ideas behind MIP* = RE: it starts with three landmark discoveries from the 1930s (Turing’s notion of a universal computing machine, the phenomenon of quantum entanglement, and von Neumann’s theory of operators), and ends with some of the most cutting-edge developments from theoretical computer science and quantum computing.

This talk is aimed at a general scientific audience, and will not assume any specialized background in complexity theory, quantum physics, or operator algebras.  

Bio: Henry Yuen is an assistant professor in the Computer Science and Mathematics departments at the University of Toronto. His research focuses on the interplay between quantum information, complexity theory, and cryptography. He received his PhD in Computer Science from MIT in 2016, and spent two years as a postdoctoral associate at UC Berkeley before joining the University of Toronto in 2018. He recently received a Google Quantum Research Award.