Eric Samperton
Assistant Professor of Quantum Information Science
My research focuses on interactions between topology and computer science. I am most interested in interactions between 3-dimensional geometric topology, topological quantum field theories, and quantum computation.
Joined department: Fall 2022
Research Areas
Education
Ph.D., University of California, Davis, Mathematics (2018)
B.S., California Institute of Technology, Mathematics with a minor in English (2012)
My research focuses on interactions between topology and computer science. I am most interested in interactions between 3-dimensional geometric topology, topological quantum field theories, and quantum computation.
Selected Publications
Topological quantum computation is hyperbolic. Communications in Mathematical Physics (2023), Volume 402, pp. 79-96. arXiv
Coloring invariants of knots are often intractable. With Greg Kuperberg. Algebraic & Geometry Topology (2021), Volume 21, Issue 3, pp. 1479-1510. arXiv
Haah codes on general three manifolds. With Kevin Tian and Zhenghan Wang. Annals of Physics (2020), Volume 412, 168014. arXiv
Computational complexity and 3-manifolds and zombies. With Greg Kuperberg. Geometry & Topology (2018), Volume 22, Issue 6, pp. 3623-3670. arXiv, YouTube
Towards a complexity-theoretic dichotomy for (2+1)-dimensional TQFT invariants. With Nicolas Bridges. Accepted to Theory of Quantum Computation, Communication and Cryptography (TQC 2025). arXiv