Books

Books : reviews

Bob Coecke.
New Structures for Physics.
Springer. 2011

This volume provides a series of tutorials on mathematical structures which recently have gained prominence in physics, ranging from quantum foundations, via quantum information, to quantum gravity. These include the theory of monoidal categories and corresponding graphical calculi, Girard’s linear logic, Scott domains, lambda calculus and corresponding logics for typing, topos theory, and more general process structures. Most of these structures are very prominent in computer science; the chapters here are tailored towards an audience of physicists.

Bob Coecke, Aleks Kissinger.
Picturing Quantum Processes: a first course in quantum theory and diagrammatic reasoning.
CUP. 2017

The unique features of the quantum world are explained in this book through the language of diagrams, setting out an innovative visual method for presenting complex theories. Requiring only basic mathematical literacy this book employs a unique formalism that builds an intuitive understanding of quantum features while eliminating the need for complex calculations. This entirely diagrammatic presentation of quantum theory represents the culmination of 10 years of research, uniting classical techniques in linear algebra and Hilbert spaces with cutting-edge developments in quantum computation and foundations.

Written in an entertaining and user-friendly style and including more than 100 exercises, this book is an ideal first course in quantum theory, foundations, and computation for students from undergraduate to PhD level, as well as an opportunity for researchers from a broad range of fields, from physics to biology, linguistics, and cognitive science, to discover a new set of tools for studying processes and interaction.

Bob Coecke, Stefano Gogioso.
Quantum in Pictures.
Quantiniuum. 2022

Hello there! Want to learn some quantum?

Maybe you think you don’t know enough maths? Well, that’s not a problem! The pictures in this book are a new kind of maths that will teach you all about the quantum world.

From quantum teleportation to the most recent developments in quantum computing, it’s all inside. We even cover quantum non-locality, for which the 2022 Nobel Prize was awarded.

And all of this is done with not-so-scary spiders! Whether you are a young, or not-so-young, amateur, or a specialist, this book is for you.

[a gift from the author]