Controlling Quantum Coherence: Toward New Paradigms of Computation
Presidential Lectures are free public colloquia centered on four main themes: Biology, Physics, Mathematics and Computer Science, and Neuroscience and Autism Science. These curated, high-level scientific talks feature leading scientists and mathematicians and are intended to foster discourse and drive discovery among the broader NYC-area research community. We invite those interested in the topic to join us for this weekly lecture series.
This talk describes experimental progress toward controlling quantum mechanical coherence and entanglement in a solid-state environment. After describing what coherence and entanglement are, I will explain why using these attributes of the quantum world might be useful for information processing. I will then report from the experimental front lines, describing two approaches to this challenging problem: using electron spin as a quantum bit, and realizing nonabelian excitations in the fractional quantum Hall effect.
Suggested Reading:
Review on spins: http://marcuslab.harvard.edu/otherpapers/Hanson_RMP2007.pdf
Technical on spins: http://marcuslab.harvard.edu/papers/Barthel_InterlacedPRL2010.pdf
Nontechnical on spins: http://marcuslab.harvard.edu/papers/DiVincenzo_Science_Perspective.pdf