JILA X317

Exploring (some of) the rich physics of dipolar lattice gases

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Abstract: Ultracold dipolar gases, formed by atoms or molecules with strong dipole-dipole interactions, present radically different physics compared to their non-dipolar counterparts. In this talk, I will focus on dipolar gases in optical lattices or tweezer arrays. I will first discuss the case of spin models realized by pinned dipoles in optical lattices, commenting on the intriguing relaxation dynamics of spin patterns in bilayer and ladder set ups, and then briefly browsing over some interesting disorder scenarios in dipolar spin models.

Towards quantum simulation of strongly interacting topological matter

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Abstract: 

The interplay of topological order and strong interactions gives rise to exciting many-body physics such as the fractional quantum Hall effect, whose microscopic properties can be unveiled using neutral atom-based quantum simulators. However, the experimental challenges due to the need to engineer an artificial magnetic field, especially in presence of interactions, have so far limited possible studies to small systems with few particles.

Measuring How Students Measure

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Abstract: Physics education research in undergraduate laboratory courses is vital to ensure that these courses achieve their learning goals, such as developing hands-on technical skills and mastering concepts and practices related to measurement uncertainty. In this talk, I cover my role in developing a research-based assessment instrument, the Survey of Physics Reasoning on Uncertainty Concepts in Experiments (SPRUCE).

Adiabatic passage and geometric phases: are they hot or not?

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In this informal seminar I will present an appraisal of adiabatic passage which transforms quantum states much better than one should expect (and I will explain why this is the case). And I will discuss an often stated claim that geometric phases, used in many  gate proposals for quantum computing, are particularly robust because of their geometric character (and I will explain why I think this is not the case).

A high optical access cryogenic optical tweezer array

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Abstract: Arrays of single trapped neutral atoms are an important platform for quantum metrology, simulation, and information processing. Interacting Rydberg atom arrays have undergone rapid scaling in qubit numbers and improvements in coherent control in recent years. Placing Rydberg atoms inside a cryogenic environment is of interest for reducing background gas collisions and blackbody radiation-induced decay.

Realization of a Quantum-Optical Spin Glass

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Abstract: Spin glasses—large-scale networks of spins with deeply frustrated interactions—are canonical examples of complex matter. Although much about their structure remains uncertain, they inform the description of a wide array of complex phenomena, ranging from magnetic ordering in metals with impurities to aspects of evolution, protein folding, climate models, and combinatorial optimization. Indeed, spin glass theory forms a mathematical basis for neuromorphic computing and brain modeling.