CAREER: Synthetic quantum materials in superconducting circuits

该奖项的全部或部分资金来自《2021年美国救援计划法案》(公共法律117-2)。非技术描述：理解在某些材料中发生的亚原子粒子之间的强相互作用和集体量子效应是现代物理学中的一个重大挑战。更好地了解这些强相关的相互作用是至关重要的，因为这些新材料具有先进技术应用的前景。然而，耗散和其他环境因素的存在使得研究这些相互作用变得非常具有挑战性。该项目通过创造由超导电路中相互作用的微波光子制成的合成“设计者”材料来解决这些挑战，利用实验中对量子系统和浴缸的精确而灵活的控制。这项研究旨在开发有效的协议来创建和控制合成量子材料及其性质，并研究开放驱动耗散环境下量子材料的微观动力学。这些发现将为材料发现和设计在量子信息科学和工程中的应用提供见解。该项目还开展了教育和外联活动，旨在加强广大受众的量子意识和量子熟练程度。这包括为不同的本科生和研究生提供量子研究方面的专业培训，为量子信息科学教育开发新的可访问材料，以及为K-12学生和教师开展广泛的与量子相关的拓展活动。技术描述：超导量子电路具有长相干、强相互作用和精确的可调性，非常适合探索由微波光子组成的合成量子材料。该项目支持开发超导电路中的合成量子物质平台，用于研究强关联量子相和驱动耗散环境中的多体动力学。动态可调谐宽带槽被发展并应用于实现电路中稳定和操纵多体相的高效和稳健的方法，包括Bose-Hubbard晶格中的强相互作用相、拓扑晶格以及其他新型的非平衡量子相。这个项目进一步探索了多体局域系统中量子信息的演化，通过研究存在热浴或量子浴和局域耗散时的粒子和纠缠动力学。这些实验提供了量子多体相热化动力学的微观视角，这是我们理解相关材料的基石。它们还提供了对相互作用、拓扑和耗散之间相互作用的见解。该项目开发的用于创建和控制量子多体态的驱动耗散技术可以应用于各种量子平台，以设计和识别健壮的量子信息资源。该奖项产生的研究基础设施和培训材料将为所有级别的学生提供长期的培训和教育机会，并为量子信息科学和工程领域的多样化劳动力做出贡献。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).NON-TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION:Understanding strong interactions and collective quantum effects between sub-atomic particles that take place in certain materials is a grand challenge in modern physics. Better understanding of these strongly correlated interactions is critical as these novel materials have promising properties for advanced technological applications. However, the presence of dissipation and other environmental factors make it very challenging to probe these interactions. This project addresses these challenges by creating synthetic “designer” materials made of interacting microwave photons in superconducting circuits, leveraging the precise yet flexible control of quantum systems and baths available in the experiments. The research aims to develop efficient protocols for creating and controlling synthetic quantum materials and their properties, and to investigate the microscopic dynamics of quantum materials in open driven-dissipative settings. The findings will provide insights on material discovery and design for applications in quantum information science and engineering. The project also launches education and outreach activities aimed at strengthening quantum awareness and quantum proficiency in a wide audience. This includes professional training in quantum research for a diverse group of undergraduate and graduate students, development of new accessible materials for quantum information science education, and broad quantum-related outreach activities for K-12 students and teachers.TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION:Superconducting quantum circuits provide the long coherence, strong interactions, and precise tunability well-suited for the exploration of synthetic quantum materials made of microwave photons. This project supports the development of a synthetic quantum matter platform in superconducting circuits for the investigation of strongly correlated quantum phases and many-body dynamics in driven-dissipative settings. Dynamically tunable broad-band bath is developed and applied to realize efficient and robust methods to stabilize and manipulate many-body phases in circuits, including strongly interacting phases in Bose-Hubbard lattices, topological lattices, and other novel non-equilibrium quantum phases. This project further explores the evolution of quantum information in many-body localized systems, by investigating particle and entanglement dynamics in the presence of thermal or quantum baths and local dissipation. These experiments offer a microscopic view of the dynamics of thermalization towards quantum many-body phases, a cornerstone of our understanding of correlated materials. They also provide insights into the interplay between interaction, topology and dissipation. The driven-dissipative techniques developed in this project for creating and controlling quantum many-body states could be applied to various quantum platforms to engineer and identify robust quantum information resources. The research infrastructure and training materials that result from this award will provide long-term training and educational opportunities for students at all levels and contribute to a diverse workforce in quantum information science and engineering.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.