We are interested in the basic physics of ultacold atoms in optical lattices including manybody physics, quantum phase transitions, and control and manipulations of atoms to create exotic quantum states or perform quantum simulations. This is a theoretical effort requiring knowledge from atomic physics, optical physics, condensed matter theory, and quantum information science. The work is in close collaboration with members of the Joint Quantum Institute and the Laser Cooling and Trapping Group. We are interested in the basic physics of quantum neutral atoms in optical lattices, as well as their application to quantum computing, quantum simulation, and manybody physics. Our research focuses on quantum logic gates, quantum architectures, and their applications to NIST efforts to build a prototype quantum processor for general quantum computation and for quantum simulation of iconic manybody systems and quantum phase transitions. Projects of interest include the theory and simulation of neutral atom systems in optical lattices, many-body studies of one- and two-component systems, scalable approaches to quantum architectures especially in lattices, novel lattice approaches that may give rise to topological order, and development of robust approaches for characterizing noise and thermal effects in experimental systems. This work builds on a continued interest in very low temperature atomic collisions. Applicants are sought with a background in quantum optics, atomic physics, condensed matter theory, and quantum information science.
Cold atoms in optical lattices; Quantum information science; Atomic collisions; Quantum computing;