Quantum information and, more generally, quantum technology, is one of the emerging field or research. As it is known, quantum mechanics and information theory are two main achievements of the last century with enormous technological and societal impact. Today a new great opportunity arises namely to use quantum mechanics to process and transmit information. This opportunity promises exciting advances in both fundamental science and technological application.
The purpose of this course is to provide the students with the fundamental tools and concepts necessary to understand and appreciate this exciting and rapidly evolving field.
To this end it is necessary, as a first step, to illustrate how a classical computer work, its potentiality, and its limitations. Then, as a second step, it is necessary to recall and comment more deeply, some fundamental aspects of quantum mechanics. Indeed, the student is supposed to already know quantum mechanics, however some concepts (for example those related to entanglement and its consequences) must be clarified in more detail.

After these two introductory steps, the student is ready to learn the main potentiality of quantum information theory which are basically the following: how a quantum computer works and how it can be built; what are the main quantum algorithms which a quantum computer can process, how it is possible to transmit information according to quantum mechanics and finally, what are the main protocols at the base of quantum cryptography and quantum teleportation.