Yao Seminar Abstract Feb 25

Fun with non-equilibrium dipoles

The quantum control of ultracold atomic gases has opened new windows into the phases of neutral particles. A remarkable amount of physics, ranging from Bose condensation and Cooper paired superfluidity to Mott localization, has already been observed.

Owing to their natural isolation, quantum optical systems of atoms, ions and molecules also represent an attractive platform to study out-of-equilibrium quantum dynamics. In this talk, I will provide a few examples of the diverse physics enabled by the quantum control of dipolar ensembles. First, I will describe how to coherently prepare topological order in a non-equilibrium setting. Second, I will show that these systems can directly explore physics beyond that of single particle Anderson localization. Finally, I will combine these stories and describe how localization can protect both topological order and enable a novel architecture for quantum information processing.