Understanding and Controlling Rydberg States in Solid-State Platforms for Quantum Technologies

该奖项全部或部分由《2021年美国救援计划法案》（公法117-2）资助。里德伯态是原子或分子中电子激发的轨道，其能量结构与在氢原子中观察到的大致相同。对于原子、分子和光学物理学的许多突破至关重要的是，过去十年的研究也表明，控制冷原子中的里德伯动力学的许多物理学在凝聚态物质中找到了自然延伸，从而暗示了同时受益于里德伯特性和固态实现的新技术。该提案汇集了纽约城市学院（CCNY）和哈佛/麻省理工学院超冷原子中心的实验家和理论家，以推进对由二维材料和宽带隙半导体组成的新型固态系统中的里德堡物理的理解。这个跨学科团队的理想定位是推进这一领域的科学知识，因为它结合了原子和凝聚态物理方面的专家，以及包括光谱学、材料科学、纳米制造和基本固态建模在内的专业知识。除了科学目标之外，这个PREP项目的一个关键目标是建立正式的伙伴关系，同时增加和丰富学生和博士后的参与，这些学生和博士后属于物理学中代表性最不足的群体。为此，该集团将利用成功的少数族裔招生渠道，覆盖最广泛的学生群体。这项工作围绕着两个截然不同，但又密切相关的材料系统进行：第一组活动集中在所谓的“激子-极化子”上，这是一种混合准粒子，由腔内激子和光子之间的强耦合产生。重点是过渡金属二硫族化合物中的极化子，其里德堡态将在磁场、应变和介电工程的存在下进行研究，特别关注极化子的形成和非线性相互作用。作为这项工作的补充，该小组将研究钻石中性色中心里德堡态的形成，在那里，氢轨道——粗略地与一个围绕带负电荷的核心旋转的洞相关联——在共振光学激发下出现。该团队将对这些系统中的里德堡态动力学进行实验探索和理论建模，更好地理解电子自旋极化与里德堡态产生之间的相互作用，并研究相邻色中心之间的里德堡封锁效应。所研究的物理平台的性质——处于广泛的持续努力的中心，但与里德堡物理学的联系却很少被探索——使这些活动引起了人们的兴趣，特别是作为在固态中重建里德堡态特征的途径，这些特征使里德堡态在量子信息处理中的应用如此有吸引力。此外，一系列旨在促进学生和博士后职业发展的举措，包括科学传播训练营、道德培训课程、专业发展系列研讨会和年度研究研讨会。该小组致力于灌输一种社区意识，这将通过参与学生之间的密切互动，以定期虚拟会议（由pi领导或非正式举行）和小组之间的学生交流的形式实现。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This award is funded in whole or in part under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2). Rydberg states are electronically excited orbitals in atoms or molecules whose energy structure approximately follow that observed in atomic hydrogen. Key to many breakthroughs in atomic, molecular and optical physics, research during the last decade has also shown that much of the physics governing Rydberg dynamics in cold atoms finds a natural extension in condensed matter, thus hinting at novel technologies that simultaneously benefit from Rydberg traits and a solid-state implementation. This proposal brings together experimentalists and theorists at the City College of New York (CCNY) and the Center for Ultracold Atoms at Harvard/MIT to advance the understanding of Rydberg physics in novel solid-state systems comprising two-dimensional materials and wide-bandgap semiconductors. This cross-disciplinary team is ideally positioned to advance the scientific knowledge of this field as it combines experts in atomic and condensed matter physics with a know-how encompassing optical spectroscopy, materials science, nanofabrication, and fundamental solid-state modeling. Adding to the scientific objectives, a key goal of this PREP project is to establish a formal partnership that simultaneously increases and enriches the participation of students and postdocs belonging to groups that are most underrepresented in physics. To this end, the group will capitalize on successful minority recruitment channels to reach the broadest student population.The work is organized around two distinct, though closely related material systems: The first set of activities zeroes in on the so-called “exciton-polaritons”, hybrid quasiparticles emerging from the strong coupling between excitons and photons in a cavity. The focus is on polaritons in transition metal dichalcogenides, whose Rydberg states will be investigated in the presence of magnetic field, strain, and dielectric engineering with special attention to polariton formation and non-linear interaction. Complementing this work, the group will investigate the formation of Rydberg states in neutral color centers in diamond, where hydrogenic orbitals — crudely associated to a hole revolving a negatively-charged core — emerge under resonant optical excitation. The group will experimentally explore and theoretically model Rydberg state dynamics in these systems, better understand the interplay between electronic spin polarization and Rydberg state creation, and investigate Rydberg blockade effects between adjacent color centers. The nature of the physical platforms investigated — at the center of broad ongoing efforts yet minimally explored in their connection with Rydberg physics — makes these activities of interest, particularly as a route to recreate in the solid state the features that make Rydberg states so attractive for applications in quantum information processing. In addition, an extensive set of initiatives is envisioned aimed at advancing the career paths of students and postdocs including a science communication bootcamp, an ethics training course, a professional development seminar series, and an annual research symposium. The group is committed to instilling a sense of community, which will be realized through a close interaction between participating students in the form of regular virtual meetings (either led by the PIs or taking place informally) and student exchange between groups.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.