Norman Yao Feb 18 Abstract

Fun with dipoles

Statistical mechanics hinges on the assumption of equilibration; when equilibration fails, so does much of our understanding. In isolated quantum systems, this failure raises a bevy of new questions regarding many-body dynamics and control.

In this talk, I will review the general setting and provide a few examples of the diverse physics enabled by the quantum control of dipolar ensembles. Owing to their long coherence times and strong interactions, such systems offer an attractive platform to study out-of-equilibrium quantum dynamics. However, the power law decay of the dipolar coupling immediately raises the question: what are the effects of long-range interactions?

I will answer this question in the context of nuclear spin quantum memories, where dynamical decoupling enables multi-second room-temperature coherence times and opens the door to associated primitives such as a quantum credit card. I will also describe a novel mechanism for many-body delocalization in the presence of power-laws. Finally, I will explore the possibility of utilizing disordered dipoles as the basis of a quantum information processor.