JILA X317

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.

The past decade has seen a huge wave of interest in the possibility of hydrodynamic transport of electrons and/or phonons in quantum materials.  There are now dozens of experiments that are approaching consensus on a weakly viscous hydrodynamic regime in e.g. monolayer graphene.

The next generation of logic devices may rely on very fast switching of magnetic states. In this thesis, I utilize ultrafast pulsed lasers to measure and manipulate magnetic states on their fundamental timescales: ranging from few-femtoseconds spin-transfers in Heusler alloys to magnetization reorientations in ferrimagnets which take tens of picoseconds. I utilize high harmonic generation to produce a tabletop extreme ultraviolet probe for resonant measurements.

Large ensembles of laser-cooled atoms interacting via photon-mediated interactions are powerful platforms for quantum simulation and sensing. In this work, I will present a cavity-QED system with matter waves coupled to a high-finesse cavity. In this system, we successfully generated entanglement between atomic momentum states and realized the first entangled matter-wave interferometer.

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Learn about how to navigate and negotiate your career after your postdoc by attending this panel featuring 3 JILA Fellows. 

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 Ultracold dipolar atoms and molecules present a wealth of exciting out-of-equilibrium phenomena. I’ll discuss some of the understanding developed over the past several years, and several useful applications to experiments.