Talk: Towards applying Quantum Topological Data Analysis to Cosmic Microwave BG

[Conrad Haupt]

Tomorrow (29 Jan) at 14:30 SAST, Dr Ismail Akhalwaya will be giving a talk on Quantum Topological Data Analysis and its application to the cosmic microwave background.

This is an invited talk by the University of Exeter. To register go to the meetup page or put the following link into your browser: https://www.meetup.com/IBM-Q-and-WITS-Quantum-Computing-Talks/events/276004518/

"Topological Data Analysis (TDA) is the study of the 'shape' of data. Such geometrical properties shed 'unsupervised' light on big data, finding use e.g. in clustering and anomaly detection. We review a recent tantalizing paper, by Lloyd et al., proposing a quantum version, QTDA, which offers an exponential speed-up, without the infamous quantum data-loading problem. We then propose a potential use-case that may benefit from this accelerated calculation speed of higher-order Betti numbers (the number of high-dimensional 'holes'). We review work establishing TDA's possible use in detecting non-Gaussianity imprinted in the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB). CMB data is expected to be one of the prized outputs of the Square Kilometer Array Telescope hosted in South Africa. What better way to symbolise Africa's technological awakening than a South African-implemented quantum algorithm run on African-acquired data of univers-al significance?

Dr Ismail Akhalwaya is a research scientist at IBM Research Africa and visiting lecturer in the Department of Computer Science and Applied Mathematics at the University of the Witwatersrand. His two main parallel research interests include AI (neuro-symbolic) and quantum computing, with the intersection of the two forming a tantalizing, nascent, third direction.

Prior to joining IBM, his career trajectory took him through the Center for High Performance Computing as a research scientist and the University of Johannesburg as an Applied Mathematics lecturer.

Dr Akhalwaya obtained a B.Sc. Mathematics, Physics and Computer Science (2003) and a B.Sc. Honours Mathematics of Computer Science with Physics (2004) from the University of Cape Town. He then joined the Quantum Research Group at the University of KwaZulu-Natal for an M.Sc. in Theoretical Physics (Quantum Computation & Information), which was awarded cum laude with the S2A3 Bronze Medal (2006).

In 2007, Dr Akhalwaya was awarded a one year Canon Collins-Mamphela Rampele Scholarship at the Centre for Quantum Computation, Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics at the University of Cambridge, UK. In 2014, he completed his Ph.D. in Theoretical Physics (Classical Noise in Quantum Systems) at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

Dr Akhalwaya has co-published 9 papers and 10 patents and is a Certified IBM Q Ambassador, Qiskit Advocate, Professional Physicist and member of the South African Institute of Physics."

Regards,

Conrad Haupt

BSc. (Elec. Eng.)

MSc. (Eng.)(HPC) Student

The University of the Witwatersrand

South Africa

https://conradhaupt.co.za