Collaborative Research: Quantum Dynamics and Control with Ultracold Rydberg Atoms

原子间的长程相互作用为许多可能的量子信息应用提供了基础。这些包括量子计算，密码学和超导等复杂现象的模拟。在过去的几十年里，理论探索揭示了这些相互作用中令人惊讶的新动力学，这些动力学直到最近才被实验所探测。例如，在某些条件下，一个相互作用的原子系统可以被“局域化”，使得系统的初始状态持续很长时间;这对量子存储器设备有潜力。这个研究小组将使用激光、电场和磁场来研究量子动力学，并通过探测冷却到绝对零度以上几百万分之一度的原子群来进行控制。他们的项目是Bryn Mawr和Ursinus之间的合作努力，这两所小型国家文科学院位于宾夕法尼亚州东南部。 每年将雇用和培训一批不同的学生，特别是本科生。学生将参与研究的各个方面，包括实验室工作，超级计算机上的计算研究，撰写和出版期刊文章，并在会议上发表。因此，他们将为STEM的研究生院和职业生涯做好充分的准备。技术观众摘要：凝聚态和原子物理学界对使用冷原子系统研究多体热化和局部化的量子动力学有相当大的兴趣。虽然在热化和局域化的研究中有许多理论和计算结果，但仍然只有少数实验系统正在探索中。 磁光阱中的超冷里德伯气体将用于探索里德伯电子的量子控制，偶极-偶极相互作用动力学以及实验和计算工作相结合的多体热化。这些实验将试图在相互作用的多原子系统中创造和控制相干性。 将开发一个类似回声的测量，这将阐明场调谐和始终共振偶极-偶极相互作用在多体热化和可能的本地化中发挥的作用。 该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

General audience abstract:Long range interactions among atoms provide the foundation for many possible quantum information applications. These include quantum computing, cryptography, and simulation of complex phenomena like superconductivity. In the past few decades, theoretical explorations have revealed surprising new dynamics in these interactions that have only recently been probed by experiment. For example, under certain conditions an interacting system of atoms can be “localized” so that the initial state of the system persists for long times; this has potential for a quantum memory device. This research team will use lasers, electric fields, and magnetic fields to study quantum dynamics and control by probing groups of atoms cooled to a few hundred millionths of a degree above absolute zero. Their project is a collaborative effort between Bryn Mawr and Ursinus, both small, national liberal arts colleges located in close proximity in southeastern Pennsylvania. A diverse group of students, particularly undergraduates, will be employed and trained every year. The students will participate in all facets of the research, including experimental lab work, computational studies on a supercomputer, writing and publishing journal articles, and presenting at conferences. They will therefore be well-prepared for graduate school and careers in STEM.Technical audience abstract:There is considerable interest, from both the condensed matter and atomic physics communities, in using cold atom systems to study the quantum dynamics of many-body thermalization and localization. While there are many theoretical and computational results in the study of thermalization and localization, there are still only a few experimental systems being explored. Ultracold Rydberg gases in a magneto-optical trap will be used to explore quantum control of the Rydberg electron, dipole-dipole interaction dynamics, and many-body thermalization with a combination of experimental and computational efforts. These experiments will attempt to create and control coherence in interacting many-atom systems. An echo-like measurement will be developed, which will illuminate the role that field-tuned and always-resonant dipole-dipole interactions play in many-body thermalization and possible localization. Optimization of these quantum processes will be explored using a genetic algorithm or other machine learning techniques.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.