Current graduate students

Wednesday, April 19, 2023 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm EDT (GMT -04:00)

IQC Student Seminar featuring Andrew Jena

AEQuO: A Comprehensive Measurement Allocation Protocol

Abstract: The variational quantum eigensolver (VQE) is a hybrid quantum-classical algorithm for solving the electronic structure problem, a problem foundational to the field of computational chemistry. In the VQE, a classical optimizer directs the state preparation protocol while a quantum device is used to measure the expectation value of the Hamiltonian with the prepared state. We developed the adaptive estimation of quantum observables (AEQuO) protocol in an attempt to use all of information from the measurement outcomes to minimize the number of measurements needed. I will give an overview of the VQE and the techniques we employ in our protocol, and I will discuss where our approach fits in with the previous measurement allocation techniques.

IQC Colloquium on ZOOM - Mark Zhandry, NTT Research

Public verification of quantum money has been one of the central objects in quantum cryptography ever since Wiesner's pioneering idea of using quantum mechanics to construct banknotes against counterfeiting. In this talk, I will discuss some recent work giving both attacks and new approaches to building publicly verifiable quantum money.

Thursday, April 20, 2023 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm EDT (GMT -04:00)

Quantum algorithms for thermal equilibrium using fluctuation theorems

IQC-QuICS MATH CS Seminar - Rolando Somma, Los Alamos National Laboratory

Fluctuation theorems provide powerful computational tools to study thermal equilibrium. Building upon these theorems, I will present a quantum algorithm to prepare the thermal state of a quantum system H1, at inverse temperature β≥0, from the thermal state of a quantum system H0.

Wednesday, April 26, 2023 11:00 am - 12:00 pm EDT (GMT -04:00)

Quantum Matters Seminar Series: No, you have not discovered a Majorana Fermion

No, you have not discovered a Majorana Fermion

Abstract: Is what I tell myself. There was a time when I thought I may have discovered it, others did too. Around 2012 several groups including ours found evidence of these quantum excitations in electrical circuits containing nanowires of semiconductor covered by a superconductor. The dramatic signatures were peaks in conductance that appeared under conditions expected from theory for Majorana modes, which are their own anti-modes and may possess non-Abelian properties. But a few years later, similar features in the data were identified due to an interesting, but a more mundane effect - which we call trivial states such as Andreev bound states. Over time more and more data pointed at the trivial and not at the exotic explanation. But because Majorana claims kept coming, this led to some digging and even retractions. What we learned after 10 years is that we have a much better handle on what effects show up in these nanowires, which positions us well for the ultimate Majorana discovery which we should be able to tell apart from all the non-Majorana things we saw. The second lesson we learned is that materials quality of device constituents, superconductors and semiconductors, as well as how samples are fabricated - are the make-or-break factors for making this happen. So while  I cannot report an exciting physics discovery, I can walk you through the scientific process that took place, a 10-year event of independent value which taught me how to do science better.

Thursday, April 27, 2023 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm EDT (GMT -04:00)

Quantum Today: Quantum Energy Teleportation – Activating Ground State Energy

Join us for Quantum Today, where we sit down with researchers from the University of Waterloo’s Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC) to talk about their work, its impact and where their research may lead.

Monday, May 15, 2023 2:30 pm - 3:30 pm EDT (GMT -04:00)

Quantum thermal machines at strong coupling

IQC Colloquium - Dvira Segal, University of Toronto

Rethinking the operation principles of thermal machines in the nanoscale and quantum domain, we focus on a continuous machine operating in steady state, the quantum absorption refrigerator (QAR), and examine three key questions: (i) How does the strong system-bath interaction affect the device's operation? (ii) What can we learn about the machine from current noise? (iii) What is the impact of coherences within the working fluid on the performance of the quantum machine? 

Monday, April 10, 2023 10:30 am - 11:30 am EDT (GMT -04:00)

Accelerating Quantum Dynamics With Long-Range Interactions

IQC Special Seminar - Jeremy Young - JILA, University of Colorado

One of the major goals in the field of quantum science is to utilize the properties of quantum mechanics for applications in quantum computation, quantum simulation, and quantum sensing. In order to address this goal, a variety of different many-body quantum platforms have been developed. Many of these quantum platforms exhibit long-range interactions, particularly power-law interactions, including Rydberg atoms, polar molecules, and trapped ions, among others. This gives rise to a natural question: how does the long-range nature of these interactions affect the resulting quantum evolution? 
 

Wednesday, April 12, 2023 2:30 pm - 3:30 pm EDT (GMT -04:00)

Millimeter-Wave Optomechanical Circuits for Preparing Non-Gaussian States of Motion

IQC Special Seminar - Bradley Hauer, National Institute of Standards and Technology

In the current paradigm of quantum cavity optomechanics, the relatively weak parametric coupling between an electromagnetic cavity and a mechanical resonator is mediated by an external pump. While this strong cavity drive acts to enhance the optomechanical interaction, it obscures its intrinsic nonlinearity, restricting these systems to bilinear operations on Gaussian states. By increasing this coupling such that it dominates the decoherence rates of the system, one could instead use the fundamental optomechanical nonlinearity to prepare the mechanical resonator into complex, non-Gaussian states...