Percolation(s) on complex networks

• Lorenzo Cirigliano

Percolation is one of the best-studied processes in mathematical and statistical physics. It can be used both as a solid ground to test anaylitical tools, and as a model to describe a wide range of physical phenomena, from forest fires to epidemic spreading (even the process of making a coffee!). After describing what a "percolation process" is, I will introduce the concept of "complex networks", and we will explore the main features of percolation process on them, providing some everyday life examples. At the end, I will shortly present a new long-range percolation process called "Cumulative Merging Percolation".

Dicussion

Dear Alice, it's Bob: an introduction to QKD

• Giovanni Rodari

Cryptography, the science of keeping data and communications secure from potentially malicious adversaries, is a fundamental task in the modern-day world. However, in the near future, advances in the field of quantum computing could render insecure most "classical" encryption protocols. To avert this threat, Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) - arguably one of the most mature fields of quantum information technologies - exploits quantum mechanics itself to enable unconditionally secure communications between two parties. In this short talk, an introduction to quantum (and classical) cryptography will be given, together with an overview of the main concepts lying behind a concrete example of a Quantum Key Distribution protocol.

Discussion