JILA Science Seminar
Optical cavities for quantum information science and precision gravity measurements
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Neutral atoms have emerged in recent years as a leading qubit candidate for quantum computing. Atom interferometers, meanwhile, provide precise measurements of very weak gravitational forces. Both of these applications use optical fields to write-in / read-out information, as well as to trap and manipulate the atoms. Optical resonators have been used to enhance such atom-photon interactions, constituting the field of cavity quantum electrodynamics (QED).
A New Dimension: Bilayer Crystals of Trapped Ions for Quantum Information Processing
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Abstract: Trapped ion systems are a leading platform for quantum information processing, but they are currently limited to 1D and 2D arrays, which imposes restrictions on both their scalability and their range of applications.
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).
Coherent Control of Metastable States - A View from Behind the Computer Screen
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Creating, understanding, and controlling metastable states of quantum matter is highly interesting due to the prospects of enabling ultrafast and energy efficient devices with novel functionality. Recent estimates indicates that non-thermal pathways to metastable phases may require several orders of magnitude less energy than a thermally driven process. In addition, hidden states of matter may be accessed if a system out of equilibrium follow trajectories to a state inaccessible, or nonexistent, under normal equilibrium conditions.
Quantum simulation of a lattice gauge theory: thermalization, many-body scars, and collision dynamics
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Abstract: Gauge theories form the foundation of modern physics, with applications ranging from early-universe cosmology and heavy-ion collisions to condensed matter systems. However, simulating the real-time dynamics of such quantum many-body systems on classical computers is fraught with difficulties, motivating the pursuit of alternative venues. I will present recent experiments where we employ a large-scale Bose-Hubbard quantum simulator to emulate a U(1) lattice gauge theory, which couples charged matter fields through dynamical gauge fields.
Recent progress towards a solid-state nuclear clock with Thorium-229
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Abstract:
Among all known isotopes, Thorium-229 has the lowest nuclear excited
state, only 8.4 eV above the ground state. This so-called "isomer" is
accessible to VUV laser excitation and has been proposed as a robust
clock transition for future frequency standards. The talk will present
most recent progress on measuring the exact nuclear excitation energy
and the isomer lifetime in a solid-state environment.
Illuminating exotic chemistry and physics with single-quantum-state spectroscopy
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Molecules are amongst the most complex objects that can be controlled and studied at the individual quantum state level. In this talk, I will introduce some of the extraordinary advances made in the last decade by the application of AMO physics tools, including cavity-enhanced optical frequency comb and microwave techniques, to such quantum-state-resolved spectroscopy.