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EVENT DETAILS |
*November Meetup on Thursday, November 21, 2019*
Zlatko Minev from IBM will talk about his latest research.
Title:
To catch & reverse a quantum jump mid-flight
Abstract:
Quantum physics was invented to account for two fundamental features of measurement results -- their discreetness & randomness. Emblematic of these features is Bohr's idea of quantum jumps between two discrete energy levels of an atom. Experimentally, quantum jumps were first observed in an atomic ion driven by a weak deterministic force while under strong continuous energy measurement. The times at which the discontinuous jump transitions occur are reputed to be fundamentally unpredictable. Can there be, despite the indeterminism of quantum physics, a possibility to know if a quantum jump is about to occur or not? Here, we answer this question affirmatively by experimentally demonstrating that the jump from the ground to an excited state of a superconducting artificial three-level atom can be tracked as it follows a predictable "flight," by monitoring the population of an auxiliary energy level coupled to the ground state. The experimental results demonstrate that the jump evolution when completed is continuous, coherent, & deterministic. Furthermore, exploiting these features & using real-time monitoring & feedback, we catch & reverse a quantum jump mid-flight, thus deterministically preventing its completion. Our results, which agree with theoretical predictions essentially without adjustable parameters, support the modern quantum trajectory theory & provide new ground for the exploration of real-time intervention techniques in the control of quantum systems, such as early detection of error syndromes.
Reference: Minev et al., Nature volume 570, pages 200204 (2019) (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-019-1287-z)
From the speaker:
I'm a scientist with an applied experimental & theoretical background, focused on quantum computing & fundamental physics. I hold a permanent research position at IBM TJ Watson. My Ph.D. in Applied Physics is from Yale University, with Michel Devoret's lab. I studied the fundamental nature of quantum predictability & randomness, scalable hardware architectures for quantum computers, electromagnetic & Hamiltonian design of superconducting quantum circuits, & more... My B.A. in Physics is from UC Berkeley, with Irfan Siddiqi's Quantum Nano Electronics lab.
I founded & led a multi-university science-outreach organization, Open Labs, to inspire underrepresented students to pursue careers in the sciences. For the impact of Open Labs at Yale & throughout the North East & my six years of leadership, I received the Yale-Jefferson Award for Public Service.
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