Quantum measurements, quantum nonlinear optics, & quantum foundations using entangled photons and ultracold & Rydberg atoms

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

My research group uses laser-cooled atoms and quantum-correlated photons to study quantum phenomena, specifically in relation to the challenges and questions raised by the exciting new applications of quantum technologies (particularly in information processing and precision measurement), and to studying foundational issues in quantum mechanics. Over the past 25 years, experimental capabilities for control of quantum systems have exploded, enabling both deeper studies of the fundamental nature of reality, and dramatic applications (witness google's recent claim of a quantum computer capable of outperforming any classical competitor). Canada in particular has great strengths in these areas, and a growing culture of innovation and startups. Over the next five years, we propose principally to (1) address long-standing controversies about how much quantum mechanics allows one to say about the past behaviour of a particle (particularly the "tunneling time," which has been debated since the 1930s but which our novel experimental techniques now enable us to measure directly), using atoms we have cooled to below one billionth of a degree above absolute zero; (2) continue to advance the newly created field of "quantum nonlinear optics," in which we and others have been able to engineer such strong interactions between individual photons that previously out-of-reach capabilities such as optical quantum logic gates and new sources of strongly entangled "photon gases" are at hand; (3) and apply insights from quantum mechanics to try to improve both imaging systems such as microscopes and telescopes and other important sensors, for example for magnetometry and timekeeping. We will thus simultaneously push the boundaries of what is possible in quantum experiments and deepen our understanding of the quantum world, helping to enable the next generations of research and of technological applications. Having developed a system for producing some of the coldest atoms in the universe, and the first experiment to measure the effect a single photon can write on a second light beam, we are well positioned to make dramatic contributions on these exciting challenges.