Alumni

What does it mean to ask feminist questions of the worlds we study?

Join Aryn Martin from York University in a talk about addressing this question and whether having more women in science is the same as having more feminism in science.

Hakop Pashayan, The University of Sydney

We present a method for estimating the probabilities of outcomes of a quantum circuit using Monte Carlo sampling techniques applied to a quasiprobability representation. Our estimate converges to the true quantum probability at a rate determined by the total negativity in the circuit, using a measure of negativity based on the 1-norm of the quasiprobability. If the negativity grows at most polynomially in the size of the circuit, our estimator converges efficiently.

Swati Singh, University of Delaware

When properly engineered, simple quantum systems such as harmonic oscillators or spins can be excellent detectors of feeble forces and fields. Following a general introduction to this fast growing area of research I will focus on two simple and experimentally realizable examples: a nitrogen vacancy (NV) center in diamond interacting with its many-body environment, and acoustic modes of superfluid helium interacting with gravitational waves.

Ludwig Mathey, University of Hamburg

While traditional means of influencing material properties are static, I will present our recent studies of dynamical control of high-temperature superconductors via light pulses. Specifically, I will discuss both light enhanced superconductivity, for which we propose a parametric amplification mechanism, as well as light induced superconductivity. As a second platform, I will describe dynamics in driven cavity-BEC systems.

Methods for parallel quantum circuit synthesis, fault-tolerant quantum RAM, and quantum state tomography

PhD Candidate: Olivia Di Matteo
Supervisor: Michele Mosca

Thesis available from the Science graduate office, PHY 2013.

Oral defence in QNC B204.

Ken Andersen, Neutron Instruments Division, European Spallation Source ERIC

The European Spallation Source is currently under construction in Lund, Sweden. It is designed to provide world-leading performance, with instruments optimized for the long-pulse time structure of the facility, making full use of the world’s brightest neutron beams for the study of materials ranging from biological systems and soft matter to engineering materials, structural chemistry and magnetism.

Jun Fan, City University of Hong Kong

Two-dimensional nanomaterials could cause structural disruption and cytotoxic effects to cells, which greatly challenges their promising biomedical applications including biosensing, bioimaging, and drug delivery. Here, interactions between lipid liposomes and hydrophobic nanosheets is studied utilizing coarse-grained (CG) molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The simulations reveal a variety of interaction morphologies that depend on the size and the orientation of nanosheets.

The Quantum Cryptography School for Young Students (QCSYS) will run August 9-16, 2019 with students arriving August 8 and departing August 17. Apply for QCSYS and discover how the physics and mathematics of quantum mechanics and cryptography merge into one of the most exciting topics in contemporary science – quantum cryptography.

Neutron whispering gallery

Dr Valery Nesvizhevsky, European Centre for Neutron Research, Institut Laue-Langevin

The "whispering gallery" effect has been known since ancient times for sound waves in air, later in water and more recently for a broad range of electromagnetic waves: radio, optics, Roentgen and so on. It consists of wave localization near a curved reflecting surface and is expected for waves of various natures, for instance, for atoms and neutrons. For matter waves, it would include a new feature: a massive particle would be settled in quantum states, with parameters depending on its mass. In 2010, we observed the quantum whispering gallery effect for cold neutrons and since then continue increasing the precision in these experiments.