Superconducting quantum devices -- micrometer-scale circuits which are cooled to a few hundredths of a degree above absolute zero, where all electrical resistance vanishes -- are one of the most promising technologies for the future of computing. For many years, research in superconducting quantum bits (or "qubits") was focused mainly on reducing noise in individual devices, but recent breakthroughs in coherence have made much larger circuits a reality, and new devices will soon reach a level of complexity where it is impossible to simulate them with regular computers. The PI will propose and coordinate new designs, experiments and applications for these devices that expand the frontiers of quantum computing. His research will study new methods for simulating exotic states of matter, correcting errors that occur from random noise, and using these qubits to more efficiently solve hard optimization problems. Graduate and undergraduate students will be trained and supported by the funding for this project. This program will also help the PI promote his research to aid commercial efforts to build quantum computers. The PI will also work in Tulane University's summer outreach program, to help attract middle and high school students to careers in science.
The scientific goals of this program are threefold. First, the PI's work will help researchers use photons trapped by superconducting qubits to simulate exotic states of matter, providing a new platform for testing predictions in quantum many-body physics. Second, the PI will explore applications of engineered dissipation, carefully tuned noise sources which can passively and automatically cancel out unwanted errors, and potentially speed up the process of solving hard optimization problems. Finally, the PI will work to integrate these passive error correction schemes with more traditional quantum error correction codes. In doing so, the PI will propose a new quantum computing architecture that could make it much easier to construct larger scale quantum computers.
