Quantum science and technology
Pascal Degiovanni, Fabio Mezzacapo, Tommaso Roscilde
The theme of Quantum Sciences and Technologies aims to exploit the possibilities of manipulating the quantum properties of matter and light. This includes harnessing quantum correlations (or entanglement) between particles, for example, for quantum computing, or on the contrary, leveraging control over individual quantum objects.
The research activity of the Theoretical Physics team in this theme is primarily focused on two axes: quantum simulators and quantum electronic optics. The study of quantum simulators based on cold atoms seeks to use quantum machines to overcome the challenge of solving several fundamental models in quantum matter - hence the close connection with the Quantum Matter theme. Recently, the focus has shifted towards exploring the physics of quantum many-body systems at equilibrium and far from equilibrium to control the fundamental feature of complex quantum systems, namely many-body entanglement. The team's activities include efficient schemes for producing and certifying entangled states for hundreds or thousands of quantum particles, as well as the challenge of classically simulating many-body quantum dynamics using variational ansatz methods.
On the other hand, the development of quantum electronic optics aims to generate, manipulate, and characterize electronic excitations in a manner analogous to single photons in quantum optics. This involves utilizing the high sensitivity of single-electron excitations to Coulomb interactions, as well as their ultra-short duration, to probe the electromagnetic field on timescales ranging from nanoseconds to picoseconds.
The team also investigates the connections between classical and quantum theories, particularly the emergence of classical properties in a quantum world, in connection with Shannon's information theory.