March 16, 2021
We hope you can join us for our seventh faculty candidate on Tuesday, March 23, 2021 with Dr. Anja Metelmann from Freie Universität Berlin, Germany
Speaker: Dr. Anja Metelmann – Freie Universität Berlin, Germany
Title: The Power of Parametric Effects in Engineered Quantum Systems
Date/Time: Tuesday, March 23 – 10:30 a.m. (PST)
Zoom Password: 03232021
Title: The Power of Parametric Effects in Engineered Quantum Systems
Abstract: Parametric couplings offer the exciting possibility to manipulate and control interactions between engineered quantum systems. Such systems are artificial mesoscopic systems whose dynamics are governed by the laws of quantum mechanics. Prominent examples of these mesoscopic systems are ultracold trapped atoms and ions, superconducting circuits and electro/optomechanical systems. Parametric modulation allows us to bring such engineered quantum systems of different energy scales into communication with each other, and provides us with the possibility to engineer coherent and dissipative processes among them. Dissipative processes are here rather special, as they are indirect processes mediated via a damped auxiliary system. In so-called dissipation engineering protocols one designs an environment in favor of a desired outcome. This includes the fascinating aspect of turning dissipation, which in general limits the performance of an experiment, into an advantageous tool. The concept of dissipation engineering has enriched the methods available for state preparation, dissipative quantum computing and quantum information processing. Combining such engineered dissipative processes with coherent dynamics allows for new effects to emerge. For example, we found that any factorisable (coherent) Hamiltonian interaction can be rendered nonreciprocal if balanced with the corresponding dissipative interaction. This powerful concept can be exploited to engineer nonreciprocal devices for quantum information processing, computation and communication protocols, e.g., to achieve control over the direction of propagation of photonic signals. In this talk I will introduce the basic concept and show how one can engineer reciprocal and nonreciprocal parametric amplifiers with improved characteristics over conventional setups.
Bio: Anja Metelmann is an Emmy Noether research group leader in the Department of Theoretical Physics at the Free University Berlin in Germany. In 2012, she received her Ph.D. in physics from the Technical University Berlin in Germany. She spent her postdoctoral time in the Physics Department of McGill University in Montreal, and in the Department of Electrical Engineering at Princeton University. Her research interests lie in the fundamental aspects and applications of superconducting circuits and mechanical systems in the quantum regime. Part of her current research focuses on nonreciprocity as a resource for quantum information processing.
For candidate information questions, please contact Professor M.P. Anant Anatram, anantmp@uw.edu
For event/schedule inquiries, please contact Jessi Navarre or Emily Kaselen, events@ece.uw.edu