Project 21: Open system quantum simulation with Rydberg atoms

Summary

Harnessing non-classical properties of many-particle quantum systems lies at the heart of disruptive quantum technologies such as quantum
simulation, quantum communication, or quantum-enhanced measurements. Recently, the PI and others have discovered that
controlled dissipation can be a valuable resource in enabling these future applications. However, dissipative quantum many-body systems
are far away from thermal equilibrium and therefore behave very differently from their equilibrium counterparts, requiring new
theoretical tools and concepts to study them. The goal of this research project is to further advance a novel variational approach
to the dynamics of dissipative systems, which has been pioneered by the PI, and to apply this method to strongly interacting Rydberg
atoms. In particular, dissipative Rydberg gases serve as an ideal environment to study dissipative quantum many-body dynamics, thanks to
their unrivaled interaction and dissipation properties. Within this framework, new fundamental insights into dissipative quantum many-body
systems are within reach, as well as providing the first ab-initio simulations for ongoing and future experiments.

People

Dr. Hendrik Weimer, Institut für Theoretische Physik, Leibniz Universität Hannover