Limits on Efficient Computation in the Physical World

TL;DR

This paper explores how physical laws influence computational limits, showing that some classical intuitions hold while others are challenged by quantum physics, using complexity theory as a key tool.

Contribution

It analyzes the impact of physical principles on computational efficiency, identifying which classical intuitions remain valid in the quantum realm.

Findings

Certain classical computational intuitions are upheld by physical laws.

Quantum physics challenges some traditional assumptions about computation.

Complexity theory helps delineate feasible from infeasible computations in the physical world.

Abstract

More than a speculative technology, quantum computing seems to challenge our most basic intuitions about how the physical world should behave. In this thesis I show that, while some intuitions from classical computer science must be jettisoned in the light of modern physics, many others emerge nearly unscathed; and I use powerful tools from computational complexity theory to help determine which are which.