Date:
Thu, 20/02/202012:00-13:30
Location:
Danciger B building, Seminar room,
Lecturer: Monika Schleier Smith
Abstract:
The dream of the quantum engineer is to have an “arbitrary waveform generator” for designing quantum states and Hamiltonians. Motivated by this vision, I will report on experiments in which we use light to induce long-range interactions among cold atoms, with photons acting either as messengers or as a means of accessing highly polarizable Rydberg states. Notable observations include photon-mediated spin-mixing—a new mechanism for generating correlated atom pairs—and interaction-based protection of spin coherence. More broadly, the combination of optically programmable interactions with imaging of spin dynamics opens new opportunities in areas ranging from quantum-enhanced sensing to combinatorial optimization to simulating toy models of quantum gravity.
Abstract:
The dream of the quantum engineer is to have an “arbitrary waveform generator” for designing quantum states and Hamiltonians. Motivated by this vision, I will report on experiments in which we use light to induce long-range interactions among cold atoms, with photons acting either as messengers or as a means of accessing highly polarizable Rydberg states. Notable observations include photon-mediated spin-mixing—a new mechanism for generating correlated atom pairs—and interaction-based protection of spin coherence. More broadly, the combination of optically programmable interactions with imaging of spin dynamics opens new opportunities in areas ranging from quantum-enhanced sensing to combinatorial optimization to simulating toy models of quantum gravity.