This CAREER award supports theoretical research and education on novel quantum phenomena in nanoscale condensed matter devices and their applications in quantum information. As their dimensions approach the atomic limit, nanoscale devices can sometimes be treated as simple macroscopic quantum objects, such as spins and harmonic oscillators. Such quantum objects can be studied by quantum optics, which is a well-developed tool that has achieved success in studying atomic systems. A theoretical framework to study coherent, dissipative, and collective behavior of nanoscale devices will be developed in two main topics by combining techniques of quantum optics with microscopic concepts of condensed matter physics. First, continuous variable quantum information processing will be studied in nanomechanical resonators which feature tiny mechanical vibrations that can carry quantum information. The coupling between nanomechanical resonators and solid-state electronic circuits will be explored to study ground state cooling, entanglement and Bell-inequality tests, and continuous variable quantum protocols, where the mechanical mode serves as an excellent quantum storage element. Second, nonlinear effects of superconducting quantum emulators coupling to a superconducting resonator will be studied, where the emulators are made of superconducting qubits to simulate quantum many-body Hamiltonians. The nature of the quantum phase transition will be studied in this nonlinear system, and a numerical package will be developed. In both topics, questions that are of particular importance for nanoscale devices will be studied, including the proper design of circuits and the effects of low-frequency fluctuations.
The research in this project connects the fields of quantum optics, condensed matter physics, and quantum information. The quantum effects in nanoscale devices can be explored to study fundamental issues in quantum mechanics, novel problems in condensed matter physics, and the development of a new generation of solid-state quantum devices. In particular, this project seeks realistic quantum computing architectures using the nanoscale devices as information carriers.
This CAREER award is made to the University of California (UC), Merced, which is a newly started research university established to serve the educational needs in the San Joaquin Valley. It is the only UC campus that is designated as a Hispanic serving institution. The educational activities in this project will provide training for students from underrepresented groups, including minority and women students, to encourage and help them to pursue careers in physics. A pipeline of activities will be organized, including women physicist networking group, Saturday lecture series for high school students at a local museum in Merced County, and development of undergraduate research projects and courses using the Peer Instruction Technique.
NONTECHNICAL SUMMARY
This CAREER award supports theoretical research and education on novel quantum mechanical effects in small solid-state devices on the nanometer (one billionth of a meter) size regime. On this scale the distinction between materials, atoms, and devices becomes blurred. Many such devices can be the building blocks of a quantum computer, which is a device for computation that makes use of quantum mechanical phenomena, and if successfully built on a large scale, will be much faster than any currently available classical computer for some algorithms. As the potential elements for storing information quantum mechanically, these devices can profoundly influence the information technology and national security.
The research bridges the disciplines of condensed matter physics, quantum optics, and quantum information science. It focuses on two main topics. One is to explore tiny nanometer-sized mechanical resonators as carriers of quantum information. The mechanical vibrations in such resonators can be connected with solid-state electronic circuits to store and manipulate information. One focus area along this line is to study the approaches that can bring the tiny mechanical vibrations into the quantum regime by extracting the thermal noise in the system to generate ?cooling? of the resonators. The other topic is to study phenomena in superconducting quantum circuits, which carry electrical current without dissipation. These effects can introduce phenomena that are new to condensed matter physics.
The quantum effects in nanoscale devices can be explored not only to study fundamental physics issues, such as the detection of gravitational waves and the boundary between the quantum and the classical worlds, but it can also help in developing a new generation of solid-state devices that are based on quantum mechanical effects for metrology and information applications.
This CAREER award is made to the University of California (UC), Merced, which is a newly started research university established to serve the educational needs in the San Joaquin Valley. It is the only UC campus that is designated as a Hispanic serving institution. The educational activities in this project will provide training and learning opportunities for students from groups typically underrepresented in science and engineering disciplines, including minority and women students, to encourage and help them to pursue careers in physics. A pipeline of activities will be organized, including women physicist networking group, Saturday lecture series for high school students at a local museum in Merced County, and development of undergraduate research projects and courses using the Peer Instruction Technique.
