For Students

Prerequisites for understanding the content in this book are a solid background in probability theory and linear algebra. If you are new to information theory, then there is enough background in this book to get you up to speed (Chapters 2, 10, 12,and 13). Though, classics on information theory such as Cover and Thomas (1991) and MacKay (2003) could be helpful as a reference. If you are new to quantum mechanics, then there should be enough material in this book (Part II) to give you the background necessary for understanding quantum Shannon theory. The book of Nielsen and Chuang (sometimes known as “Mike and Ike”) has become the standard starting point for students in quantum information science and might be helpful as well (Nielsen & Chuang, 2000). Some of the content in that book is available in Nielsen's dissertation (Nielsen, 1998). If you are familiar with Shannon's information theory (at the level of Cover and Thomas (1991), for example), then this book should be a helpful entry point into the field of quantum Shannon theory. We build on intuition developed classically to help in establishing schemes for communication over quantum channels. If you are familiar with quantum mechanics, it might still be worthwhile to review Part II because some content there might not be part of a standard course on quantum mechanics.