Photonic Materials in Quantum Circuits

Photonic Materials in Quantum Circuits

Superconducting quantum circuits are an emerging quantum computing platform which now competes aggressively with the best trapped-ion systems. In a collaboration with the Schuster Lab, we are using the exquisite quantum coherence of these devices to build synthetic materials composed of strongly interacting microwave photons.

Approach

• We have focused on exploring new techniques for assembling and characterizing strongly correlated states of matter. Recent successes include assembling the first Mott insulator of photons (through reservoir engineering), the first Tonks-gas of photons (through disorder control and adiabatic preparation) and most recently, the introduction of a new way to sense thermodynamic properties of quantum states that we call "Manybody Ramsey Spectroscopy".
• We have demonstrated the first topologically insulating circuit, in both the time-reversal-symmetric and time-reversal-broken regimes.
• We have developed theoretical descriptions of topologically non-trivial, interacting Harper-Hofstadter models, as well as tools for populating them with particles at zero-temperature and non-zero chemical potential.
• The macroscopic nature of these systems enables us to achieve single-photon, single-lattice site resolution-- akin to a quantum gas microscope for photonic quantum materials!