CAREER: Quantum Simulation With Strings of Trapped Ions

大多数科学家认为，宏观日常世界中所有已知的现象都遵循几个基本的量子物理原理。然而，在实践中，人们对宏观世界和量子世界之间的联系知之甚少。一个特别令人困惑的问题是，摩擦等耗散效应是如何从量子物理中产生的。在这项研究中，将使用捕获离子的晶体从量子力学的基本原理来研究静摩擦的出现。为此，离子晶体将被冷却到接近绝对零点的温度，并被置于由两束干涉光束形成的周期性电势中。通过这种方式，摩擦的开始与量子相变有关的假设将得到检验。这些研究努力将得到以量子信息为灵感的现代化物理教育的补充。该材料将强调使用现代实验对量子现象的概念性理解，并辅之以关于纠缠光子和量子密码学的实验课程。更广泛的影响包括本科生融入研究活动。伯克利纳米科学和纳米工程研究所的夏季高中学徒研究计划将被用来接触高中生，特别是鼓励代表不足的群体的成员学习科学。

Most scientists believe that all known phenomena in the macroscopic everyday world follow from a few fundamental quantum physics principles. In practice, however, the connection between the macroscopic world and the quantum world is poorly understood. A particular puzzle is how dissipative effects such as friction emerge from quantum physics. In this study, crystals of trapped ions will be used to study the emergence of static friction from the fundamental principles of quantum mechanics. For this an ion crystal will be cooled close to the absolute zero point of temperature and placed in a periodic potential formed by two interfering light beams. In this way the hypothesis that the onset of friction is connected to a quantum phase transition will be tested.These research efforts will be complemented by modernizing physics education with a quantum information inspired syllabus. The material will emphasize a conceptual understanding of quantum phenomena using modern experiments and be complemented by a lab-course on entangled photons and quantum cryptography. Broader impacts include the integration of undergraduate students into research activities. The Summer High-School Apprenticeship Research Program of the Berkeley Nanoscience and Nanoengineering Institute will be used to reach out to high-school students and, in particular, to encourage members of underrepresented groups to study sciences.