Quantum technologies with atoms and ions: overview and perspectives

  • Date February 28, 2018
  • Hour 3 PM
  • Room GSSI Library
  • Speaker Carlo Sias
  • Area Physics


Ultracold atoms and trapped ions represent two of the most promising quantum hardware. On the one hand, ultracold atoms can be brought to the lowest temperatures of the Universe, at which they form mesoscopic ensembles of particles that behave coherently. On the other hand, trapped ions are one of the best physical systems for exploring single particle and few-body physics, since Coulomb repulsion ensures a relatively large spacing between particles. In both systems, the motional and the internal quantum states can be precisely controlled, making it possible to create pure quantum states and entanglement. Notably, trapped ions and cold atoms represent the hardware of the best optical clocks realized so far.

In this seminar, I will give an overview of the state-of-the-art in the implementation of quantum technologies with the methods of experimental atomic physics. I will show how atoms and ions are currently used to simulate condensed matter models, like the Bose-Hubbard and the Fermi-Hubbard models, to implement algorithms of quantum computation, to realize the most precise clocks on earth. Finally, I will introduce one of the latest developments in the field: the realization of hybrid atom-ion systems. In a hybrid atom-ion system, ultracold atoms and ions are merged in one apparatus, making it possible to simultaneously exploit the most advantageous properties of both systems and to use the emerging atom-ion interactions as a new “knob” in the quantum hardware.