Joint Quantum Institute: Processing Quantum Coherence

University Of Maryland, College Park, College Park MD

Investigators

Abstract

This award to the Joint Quantum Institute (JQI) provides support to enable high-risk, speculative experimental and theoretical activity in the control and use of quantum coherence and entanglement - the basis of a second quantum revolution. The combination of Information Theory with Quantum Mechanics has created the new field of Quantum Information Science (QIS), which has the potential to revolutionize how information is processed and stored. Quantum coherence and quantum entanglement are universal to all quantum physical systems, in much the same sense that the processing of information is independent of the information's physical embodiment. Future success in propagating quantum coherence, preparing complex quantum entangled states, and managing decoherence will likely hinge upon the interconversion of quantum coherence among various physical platforms, for example: solid-state photon sources, individual ions, ultracold atomic gases in optical lattices, and superconducting devices. The Physics Frontiers Center (PFC) at JQI will facilitate the integration of Atomic, Molecular and Optical (AMO) and Condensed Matter (CM) systems for the study of QIS through three major activities: (1) Correlated and Topological Matter with Cold Atoms will create and investigate topological and other novel forms of quantum-correlated matter in cold atomic and molecular systems. Using probes of single-particle properties and measures of quantum entanglement, this activity will provide insight into the emergence and dynamics of exotic phases in real or artificial condensed-matter systems. (2) Supercircuits at the AMO/CM Interface will bring together AMO and CM techniques and perspectives to treat "supercircuits": superconducting electrical circuits and mechanical circuits of atomic gas superfluids. A combination of AMO/CM couplings and AMO/CM analogies will provide new insights into supercircuits and superfluidity as well as develop new tools for quantum information. (3) Quantum Optics with Semiconductors and Atoms will investigate methods to transfer coherence and create entanglement between matter and light and to produce complex many-body entanglement in semiconductors and atomic systems. The emergence of QIS has propelled a convergence of CM and AMO physics. Graduate students and post-doctoral associates supported through the PFC will be trained at that interface. A the high school level, the PFC will institute a program to enrich the teaching of physics and mathematics in Prince George's County (PG) high schools, including offering paid summer research internships to as many as six PG County Public School teachers. The teachers will work alongside scientists in PFC projects and will meet weekly with JQI fellows to discuss their summer experiences, current science topics, and issues they confront in their classrooms. The PFC will have an informative, educational, and topical web site, an active seminar series, a program of JQI travelling lecturers, and an annual open house. The PFC will support, maintain, and expand the Physics Lecture Demonstrations at UMD, and develop new channels to disseminate findings to both the scientific and non-technical communities.