Quantum information processing and quantum optics with superconducting circuits

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The desire to understand and ultimately adapt one's environment is as old as the history of human civilization itself. The discovery of quantum mechanics in the early 20th century unveiled a new frontier for this endeavour, one based on exploiting the counterintuitive laws that govern the behaviour of atoms and subatomic particles. This led to some of the most revolutionary technologies of the modern era, including microelectronics, lasers, and magnetic resonance imagining (MRI). On a more fundamental level, our understanding has progressed to the point where experimental control of the quantum properties of individual atoms is now possible; the 2012 Nobel Prize in Physics recognized this revolutionary work. This "quantum control" is quite literally control and adaptation of the environment at its most fundamental level -- the detection and manipulation of individual quanta of energy. Despite these remarkable advances, the potential for quantum mechanics to transform society is far from being exhausted: we currently stand on the verge of a quantum revolution that promises to be as profound as the breakthroughs of the past. Indeed, it is now recognized that quantum effects can be harnessed to create computers that would be immensely more powerful than current ones. In some cases, these quantum computers could take days to solve problems that would require today’s fastest computers billions of years to complete. While the realization of such computers is challenging, the past few years have seen remarkable progress in making "man-made" devices (e.g. circuits printed on a chip) act purely quantum mechanically and interact strongly with quantum particles of light. This emerging field of engineered quantum systems uses advances in micro-fabrication of superconducting electrical circuits and microwave engineering to achieve a level of quantum control that far exceeds what is possible with "natural" quantum systems. Moreover, these man-made quantum systems can be designed from the bottom up, allowing an almost infinite range of possibilities: we are not simply limited to the options provided by nature. The goal of this research program is to push further our fundamental understanding of these man-made quantum systems and to find new ways to exploit their unique properties. Because these superconducting devices harness effects that are at the foundation of our understanding of the quantum theory, this exploration will yield a deeper understanding of the quantum world, and by extension the world we live in. Beyond quantum computers, it will also open the door to remarkable new technologies based on actively exploiting quantum effects. In the next five years, we will focus on circuit quantum electrodynamics, an engineered quantum system based on microfabricated superconducting circuits that was first proposed by colleagues and myself. Because much of the recent advances in the field are linked to its development, this is an exciting time to study this system. Circuit quantum electrodynamics is not only one of the most promising quantum computer architectures, it has also bridged the gap between different fields of physics, namely mesoscopic physics and quantum optics. With NSERC support we will make advances in three major aspects of the physics of these devices: 1) Quantum optics in the microwave frequency range. 2) Improved measurement of engineered quantum systems. 3) Quantum information processing with circuit quantum electrodynamics. While theoretical in nature this program is heavily connected to experimental efforts in many of the field's top laboratories in Canada and worldwide. Our findings will help in bringing new quantum technology to fruition, while assuring Canada a leading role in the emerging quantum revolution.