JILA Thesis Defense

Programmable arrays of alkaline earth atoms: qubits, clocks, and the Bose-Hubbard model

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Abstract: Neutral atoms trapped in optical tweezer arrays have emerged as a promising platform for quantum computing, and for the analog simulation of various spin models. In this work, we apply the programmable control provided by optical tweezer arrays to new domains in quantum science by means of interfacing optical tweezers with a Hubbard-regime optical lattice, and extending the optical tweezer toolbox to new atomic species (namely alkaline earth atoms).

Single molecule ligand binding kinetics and environmental adaptations in lysine riboswitches

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Abstract: Riboswitches are important RNA structures in bacteria and some eukaryotes that can bind a ligand to toggle between conformations that allow or terminate transcription, translation, or splicing. We study folding kinetics and thermodynamics in the B. subtilis and T. maritima lysine riboswitches via single molecule TIRF microscopy. We show that riboswitch folding is exothermic with a large entropic cost, which we attribute to increased binding pocket rigidity upon lysine binding.

Quantum many-body dynamics of atomic platforms for quantum simulation and metrology

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A key goal in modern quantum science is to harness the complex behavior of quantum systems to develop new technologies. While precisely engineered platforms featuring ultracold atoms and trapped ions have emerged as powerful tools for this task, the limited ability to theoretically probe these systems poses challenges for improved control and characterization. In this thesis, I focus on the development of new computational tools, utilizing tensor networks and phase space methods, for studying the far-from-equilibrium dynamics of quantum many-body systems.

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