ECE Seminar: Kanu Sinha, Princeton

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Contact jjh348@cornell.edu for Zoom login info. Engineering Atom-Field interactions in Nanoscale Quantum Optical Systems Abstract: Interactions between atoms and electromagnetic fields are at the core of nearly all quantum devices, with applications ranging from building quantum computers and networks, communicating quantum information over long distances, and developing quantum sensors of increasing precision. The miniaturization of these systems is critical to increasing their modularity as well as improving the efficacy of light-matter interactions by confining electromagnetic fields in small volumes. Thus atom-field interactions at nanoscales become a pivotal aspect of understanding and designing novel photonic devices. In this talk, I will discuss two specific challenges relevant to nanoscale quantum optical systems and ways to engineer them: (1) Fluctuation phenomena – Forces, dissipation and deco- herence induced by fluctuations of the electromagnetic field limit the control and coherence of quantum systems at nanoscales. I will present an overview of ways to engineer fluctuation phe- nomena in nanophotonic systems, and discuss specifically how collective effects can be used to tailor fluctuation-induced forces between atoms and surfaces. (2) Collective atom-field interactions over long distances – Distant correlated atoms coupled via waveguides can exhibit surprisingly rich non-Markovian dynamics arising from the memory effects of their intermediary electromag- netic environment. I will discuss how such a system demonstrates collective spontaneous emission rates exceeding those of Dicke superradiance (‘superduperradiance’), formation of macroscopically delocalized atom-photon bound states and limitations on long-distance quantum information proto- cols. These ideas pave way for building novel efficient light-matter interfaces and scalable quantum devices with long distance correlated quantum systems. Bio: Kanu Sinha is an Associate Research Scholar at the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Princeton University. She earned her Bachelors of Technology in Engineering Physics at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), New Delhi, followed by her Ph.D. in Physics at University of Maryland (UMD), College Park. She has since been a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Institute of Quantum Optics and Quantum Information (IQOQI) in Innsbruck, Austria and at the US Army Research Laboratory (ARL) in Maryland. Her research involves engineering various quantum optical phenomena in collective atomic systems, pertinent to near-term quantum devices. While primarily a theorist, she collaborates closely with ongoing experiments in circuit quantum electrodynamics (QED), optical nanofibers, and levitated optomechanics platforms. She has been the recipient of US ARL Fellowship, Dr. Ruth Davis Fellowship for Mathematics and Physics, and UMD Physics Departmental Fellowship.