Most quantum logical operations rely, for the manipulation of the qubits, on electromagnetic fields which are generally assumed to be classical. Yet, these are ultimately quantum objects that may introduce errors, for instance, by becoming entangled with the qubits themselves. Attempts to estimate the size of these effects have led to an interesting debate and yielded results that, in one way or another, have challenged the intuition of all the participants. The talk will illustrate the dangers posed by "naive" approaches, but also how, with a little care, they may end up working remarkably well.

Contact Bei-Lok Hu.