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

该奖项的全部或部分资金来自《2021年美国救援计划法案》(公法117-2)。里德堡态是原子或分子中电子激发的轨道，其能量结构与氢原子中观察到的大致相同。作为原子、分子和光学物理许多突破的关键，过去十年的研究还表明，支配冷原子里德伯格动力学的大部分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格特性和固态实施的新技术。这项提议将纽约城市学院(CCNY)和哈佛/麻省理工学院超冷原子中心的实验者和理论家聚集在一起，以促进对由二维材料和宽带隙半导体组成的新型固态系统中里德堡物理的理解。这个跨学科的团队是推进这一领域科学知识的理想人选，因为它将原子和凝聚态物理方面的专家与包括光学光谱、材料科学、纳米制造和基础固态建模在内的技术诀窍结合在一起。除了科学目标，这个预科项目的一个关键目标是建立正式的合作伙伴关系，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低的群体。为此，该小组将利用成功的少数族裔招生渠道，接触到最广泛的学生群体。这项工作围绕两个截然不同但密切相关的材料系统展开：第一组活动集中在所谓的激子-极化子上，即从腔内激子和光子之间的强耦合中产生的混合准粒子。重点是过渡金属二卤化物中的极化子，其里德堡态将在磁场、应变和介质工程中进行研究，特别关注极化子的形成和非线性相互作用。作为对这项工作的补充，该小组将研究钻石中性色心中里德伯格态的形成，在共振光激发下，类氢轨道-粗略地与绕带负电荷的核心旋转的空穴有关-出现。该小组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，更好地了解电子自旋极化和里德伯格态创建之间的相互作用，并研究相邻色心之间的里德堡阻塞效应。所研究的物理平台的性质--处于正在进行的广泛努力的中心，但与里德伯格物理的联系尚未得到最低限度的探索--使这些活动引起了人们的兴趣，特别是作为在固态中重建使里德伯格态对量子信息处理应用如此有吸引力的特征的一种途径。此外，还设想了一系列旨在促进学生和博士后职业道路的广泛举措，包括科学交流训练营、道德培训课程、专业发展研讨会系列和年度研究专题讨论会。该组织致力于灌输一种社区意识，这将通过参与的学生之间的密切互动来实现，形式为定期虚拟会议(由PIs领导或非正式进行)和小组之间的学生交流。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势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.