The MCQST Colloquium Series features interdisciplinary talks given by visiting international speakers. The monthly colloquial covers topics spanning all MCQST research units and will be broadcasted live, being made available to audiences worldwide. The main goal of the series is to create the framework for idea exchange, to strengthen links with QST leading groups worldwide, as well as to act as an integral part of the local educational environment.

MCQST Colloquium: Monika Schleier-Smith

On 6 July 2021, we are excited to invite you to attend the colloquium offered by Monika Schleier-Smith, Associate Professor of Physics at Stanford University.

Atoms Interlinked by Light - Programmable Interactions and Emergent Geometry

Interactions govern the flow of information and the structure of correlations in quantum systems. Typical interactions decay with distance, resulting in a network of connectivity that is dictated by geometry. Yet a variety of applications, in areas ranging from quantum simulation to combinatorial optimization, demand more versatile control of the graph of interactions. I will report on the realization of programmable nonlocal interactions in an array of atomic ensembles within an optical resonator, which serves as a conduit for photons to convey information between distant atomic spins. We harness this programmability to access effective geometries entirely distinct from the physical arrangement of atoms. As illustrative examples, we explore frustrated interactions, non-trivial topologies, and an emergent treelike geometry inspired by concepts of quantum gravity.

About the speaker

Monika Schleier-Smith is an Associate Professor in the Physics Department at Stanford University. She received her Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, following undergraduate studies at Harvard University, and subsequently pursued postdoctoral research at the LMU Munich and Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics. Her current research centers on advancing optical control of interactions among laser-cooled atoms, with an eye towards applications in quantum simulation, metrology, and computation. She has pioneered techniques and ideas for simulating phenomena of condensed-matter physics and quantum gravity using tools of atomic physics, and developed protocols in quantum control for entanglement-enhanced sensing. Her honors and awards include the National Science Foundation CAREER Award, President’s Early Career Award for Science and Engineering, a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship, and the I. I. Rabi Prize of the American Physical Society.

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