Ultrafast Quantum Photonics: From Fundamental Aspects to High-Tech Applications

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Arguably one of the greatest feats of ultrafast science up until now has been the development of tools which enable access to the elementary dynamics of the fundamental degrees of freedom of matter. In particular, the ability to measure time evolution of fields has opened a unique window into the world of condensed matter physics, where a formation of quasiparticles, collective modes and dynamics of their correlations can be observed on the fundamental timescales of the respective processes. This progress has provided a leap in our microscopic understanding of many-body interactions and motivated the development of novel applications and devices. Owing to their intrinsically quantum-mechanical nature, the interplay of various fundamental degrees of freedom of a solid can be understood more directly if one is able to access quantum instead of classical system observables. Furthermore, the capability of a truly quantum field-resolved detection would enable direct observation of the evolution of quantum correlations in the time domain. Such ability is poised to seed a new era of quantum spectroscopy of light-matter interaction. In this proposal, we elaborate our long-term plan toward the development of a novel experimental approach to ultrafast quantum electrodynamics which also seeks to harness this quantumness for cutting edge applications. We outline broad research goals as intermediate steps toward the pursuit of this main idea. To this end, we subdivide the activities into three research threads. In the first, we explore novel sources of ultrafast nonclassical light. The second develops new time-domain detection methodologies for field-resolved sensing of quantum light and, finally, in the third thread we make first steps toward quantum spectroscopy of matter and light-matter coupling. Along the way, we are also seeking for new cutting edge applications which our novel approach entails. We believe that the efficient path for research is to synergistically combine fundamental studies with the development of precision instrumentation and novel measurement techniques at the world-class level. As designed, our Program is motivated by both advancing the fundamental research in physics as well as the development of high-tech applications in the field of photonics. Within this framework, we believe that our Program offers a well-integrated, diverse and engaging platform for training future generations of highly qualified professionals in industry as well as academia.