Quantum optics and quantum many-body systems group

We investigate the manipulation and control of quantum states of matter, motivated by three main goals:

• Many-body quantum phenomena underpin many open questions in fundamental physics, as well as many of the useful properties of matter. Unfortunately, many of these effects are poorly understood. By controlling many-body quantum states, we can study these phenomena in simplified and controllable environments.
• Quantum sensors are devices that utilise quantum systems to make measurements with exquisite sensitivities. One example is atom interferometry, which provides state-of-the-art sensitivity of gravitational fields. By creating quantum entanglement in these systems, the sensitivity can be further improved, allowing for new sensing capabilities, such as the ability to monitor underground water resources. We study a range of techniques for improving quantum sensors through manipulating the dynamics of the quantum state.
• Quantum computing offers the possibility to massively accelerate certain calculations. They are based on coherent gates that manipulate qubits. We explore new dynamical schemes that can vastly improve the speed and efficiency of these gates, increasing the scalability of quantum computing.

We use a range of theoretical methods in our group, spanning from pure analytics to computationally intensive numerical calculations. We are also exploring machine-learning techniques, where search methods can be used to discover protocols and designs that go beyond the reductionist modelling that typifies human designs.