Events

IQC Math CS Seminar - featuring Mario Szegedy, Rutgers University

Motivated by quantum network applications over classical channels, we initiate the study of n-party resource states from which LOCC protocols can create EPR-pairs between any k disjoint pairs of parties. ...

Chemistry Seminar Series – Steve Winter, Wake Forest University

Host: A. Wei Tsen

Quantum materials represent a broad class of systems whose experimental response relies directly on entanglement between their underlying degrees of freedom. Modeling of such materials presents a variety of challenges related to a disparate variety of complex behaviours that manifest at different energy scales, and a typical sensitivity of responses to model parameters. In this field, first-principles approaches often provide a vital bridge between experiments and theoretical models. In this talk, I will introduce our numerical strategies for systematically building low-energy models with local charge, spin, and orbital degrees of freedom of arbitrary complexity. I will discuss the insights that these methods have yielded for frustrated magnetic insulators collectively known as "Kitaev materials", which have prompted a recent explosion of interest in quantum magnets where spin-orbit coupling induces strongly anisotropic and competing magnetic interactions. I will specifically address our recent attempts to understand the magnetic models of few-layer RuCl3 and high-spin d7 Co(II) compounds, which have recently been identified as possible alternative platforms for realising the celebrated Kitaev model.

Math/CS Seminar Featuring Cihan Okay Bilkent University

In modern homotopy theory, spaces are represented by combinatorial models called simplicial sets. Their elegant formulation gives them great expressive power to capture spaces up to homotopy. Simplicial distributions are basic mathematical objects that mix simplicial sets with probabilities. ...

Young-June Kim: Alpha-RuCl3: a progress report

Abstract: A bond-dependent anisotropic magnetic interaction called the Kitaev interaction can be found in honeycomb lattice materials with strong spin-orbit coupling, which has made a profound impact on quantum magnetism research. In particular, alpha-RuCl3 has been heralded as a realization of the Kitaev quantum spin liquid state, an elusive new state of matter that harbours Majorana fermions. In this talk, I will give a brief overview of the current status of research on alpha-RuCl3 and discuss recent experimental developments and a few surprising findings using ultra-high-quality samples grown in our laboratory. Our samples have minimal stacking faults even at low temperatures, allowing us to determine the low-temperature crystal structure unambiguously. We also found that the magnetic properties are surprisingly sensitive to the inter-layer configuration, giving rise to various magnetic transition temperatures. We also compare low-energy spin-orbit excitations in various Kitaev materials using resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (RIXS). We found that non-local physics is important for describing the spin-orbit excitations in these materials, in contrast to the conventional belief that local Jeff=1/2 physics is sufficient in these compounds.

Avenues focusing reference frame independent protocols to enhance free space satellite quantum communications channels

Free-space quantum channels for real world quantum information applications are rapidly emerging, with Canada developing the quantum encryption and science satellite (QEYSSat). For polarization-based systems, one challenge is aligning the reference frame of the polarization states. For example, the physical orientation of the satellites is crucial in maintaining the proper geometric reference frame alignment. However, reference frame independent (RFI) protocols overcome this issue because they don’t require all the polarization states to be fixed. Furthermore, using time bin encoding completely removes the need for a geometric reference, but presents its own challenges when used over a free space channel. In this talk, we will discuss the development done at the University of Waterloo towards the use of reference frame independent protocols for free-space quantum channels. Furthermore, we will discuss the benefits of using time bin encoding over free-space channels, and present our implementations of such systems and what they mean for future QEYSSat missions and applications on other platforms.

All-optic fine structure splitting eraser

Reliable entangled photon sources are important for testing fundamentals in quantum mechanics, achieving secure quantum key distribution, among other things. Quantum dots are a hot topic for precisely this need of the scientific community. Quantum dots act as artificial atoms by confining electrons and holes in wells. They emit polarization entangled photons in an exciton-biexciton cascade. The expected entangled state from the cascade is               
The confining potential of these wells can be asymmetric which causes fine structure splitting in the intermediate energy level of the cascade.
 
The presented work offers a way to achieve perfectly entangled photon pairs with quantum dots in vertical nanowires, on demand and with a high count rate. Fine structure splitting is seen in all quantum dot systems whether they are quantum dots in nanowires, micropillars, or, self-assembled quantum dots. This proposal is universal because it can be used to compensate for energy dependent entanglement degradation in all entangled photon sources.
The fine structure splitting in the dot leads to a difference in energy of the photons in different polarizations. This renders the quantum dot system less effective for quantum key distribution applications. Therefore, countering fine structure splitting is highly desirable.

This talk will discuss the approach taken in Quantum Photonic Devices lab to counter the fine structure splitting.

Yong-Baek Kim: Quantum Spin Liquids and Criticality in Multipolar Materials

Abstract: Multipolar quantum materials possess local moments carrying higher-rank quadrupolar or octupolar moments. These higher-rank multipolar moments arise due to strong spin-orbit coupling and local symmetry of the crystal-electric-field environment. In magnetic insulators, the interaction between multipolar local moments on frustrated lattices may promote novel quantum spin liquids. In heavy fermion systems, the interaction between multipolar local moments and conduction electrons may lead to unusual non-Fermi liquids and quantum criticality. In this talk, we first discuss a novel quantum spin ice state, a three-dimensional quantum spin liquid with emergent gauge field, that may have been realized in Ce₂Zr₂O₇ and Ce₂Sn₂O₇, where Ce³⁺ ions carry dipolar-octupolar moments. We present a theoretical analysis of possible quantum spin ice states in this system and compare the theoretical results of dynamical spin structure factors with recent neutron scattering experiments. Next, we present a theoretical model to describe the unusual Kondo effect and quantum criticality in Ce₃Pd₂₀Si₆, where Ce³⁺ moments carry a plethora of dipolar, quadrupolar, and octupolar moments. We show that two consecutive Kondo-destruction-type phase transitions can occur with the corresponding Fermi surface reconstructions. We compare these results with existing experiments and suggest future ultrasound experiments for the detection of emergent quantum critical behaviors.

Math/CS Seminar - Vahid Asadi from IQC

In this talk, we study the problem of designing worst-case to average-case reductions for quantum algorithms. For all linear problems, we provide an explicit and efficient transformation of quantum algorithms that are only correct on a small (even sub-constant) fraction of their inputs into ones that are correct on all inputs. This stands in contrast to the classical setting, where such results are only known for a small number of specific problems or restricted computational models. En route, we obtain a tight Ω(n^2) lower bound on the average-case quantum query complexity of the Matrix-Vector Multiplication problem...

So you want to build a satellite?

Are you curious about the Quantum Encryption and Science Satellite mission, also known as QEYSSat? Are you wondering "Why put quantum in space"? Or perhaps you are curious to know what it takes to put quantum hardware in space? In this talk, we will discuss why it is advantageous to have quantum in space. We will also explore the various design challenges that need to be considered for space hardware. Finally, we will discuss the history of quantum space activities at the Institute for Quantum Computing, particularly QEYSSat, which is a joint project between the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and the University of Waterloo.

CS/Math Seminar - Luowen Qian, Boston University in person and on ZOOM

Pseudorandom states (PRS) are efficiently constructible states that are effectively Haar random against efficient observers. Recently, this notion has found its influence in many fields like quantum information, quantum gravity, and quantum complexity. ...