Quantum Computation and Quantum Information

Quantum Computation and Quantum Information is a textbook about quantum information science written by Michael Nielsen and Isaac Chuang, regarded as a standard text on the subject. It is informally known as "Mike and Ike", after the candies of that name. The book assumes minimal prior experience with quantum mechanics and with computer science, aiming instead to be a self-contained introduction to the relevant features of both. (Lov Grover recalls a postdoc disparaging it with the remark, "The book is too elementary – it starts off with the assumption that the reader does not even know quantum mechanics.") The focus of the text is on theory, rather than the experimental implementations of quantum computers, which are discussed more briefly.

As of January 2020, the book has been cited over 39,000 times on Google Scholar. In 2019, Nielsen adapted parts of the book for his Quantum Country project.