Novel aspects and applications of quantum measurement theory. The first aim is to develop further a novel formalism for quantum measurement theory based on retrodiction (rather than prediction). The second is to apply this theory to non-Markovian systems (in which the measurement is smeared-out in time). The third is to combine quantum measurement theory with natural selection better to understand the appearance of the everyday world. The expected outcomes include a deeper understanding of quant ....Novel aspects and applications of quantum measurement theory. The first aim is to develop further a novel formalism for quantum measurement theory based on retrodiction (rather than prediction). The second is to apply this theory to non-Markovian systems (in which the measurement is smeared-out in time). The third is to combine quantum measurement theory with natural selection better to understand the appearance of the everyday world. The expected outcomes include a deeper understanding of quantum physics and the establishment of new techniques for analysing problems in quantum communication and quantum-limited technologies. These advances are significant both fundamentally and, at the dawn of the quantum information age, in practice.Read moreRead less
Quantum Measurement, Control and Information: Forging Links to Underpin Quantum Technology. The 21st century is seeing the birth of the first truly quantum technologies - devices whose operation can only be explained using quantum physics - which can outperform any conventional technology. This project will advance new theoretical foundations for designing quantum technologies by forging links between the three key areas of quantum measurement, control, and information. It will also establish th ....Quantum Measurement, Control and Information: Forging Links to Underpin Quantum Technology. The 21st century is seeing the birth of the first truly quantum technologies - devices whose operation can only be explained using quantum physics - which can outperform any conventional technology. This project will advance new theoretical foundations for designing quantum technologies by forging links between the three key areas of quantum measurement, control, and information. It will also establish the first experimental laboratory in Australia to test these new theories. As the miniaturization of technology continues, quantum design principles will be required for more and more devices. The discoveries made will help keep Australian science at the forefront of this revolution.Read moreRead less
Storage of non-classical light in a solid. A new scheme for storing and recalling coherent light pulses based on 'slow light' has been demonstrated. The aim of this project is to show how this can best be achieved in a solid to enable practical applications. A range of materials will be investigated. The novel feature of the storage is the maintenace of the coherence information and a noise analysis will be made to determine whether it is experimentally possible to store non-classical light.
Imaging Light and Gases with Low Energy Electrons. The imaging of light and atoms trapped in the potential minima of optical lattices will be a world first, positioning Australia at the forefront of the merging fields of electron microscopy and atom optics, leading to important international recognition and publicity. This project, relevant to the frontier technologies of photonics, atom optics and quantum information processing, will also develop a skills base in surface electron microscopy and ....Imaging Light and Gases with Low Energy Electrons. The imaging of light and atoms trapped in the potential minima of optical lattices will be a world first, positioning Australia at the forefront of the merging fields of electron microscopy and atom optics, leading to important international recognition and publicity. This project, relevant to the frontier technologies of photonics, atom optics and quantum information processing, will also develop a skills base in surface electron microscopy and laser science by providing high level training for post-graduate and honours students. In addition, the utilisation of optical lattices as micro-environmental cells in electron microscopy will be an important development for in situ studies of the gas phase including chemical reactions.
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Nonlinear quantum science with superconducting circuit quantum-electrodynamics. Circuit quantum electrodynamics has rapidly emerged in recent years as a new field of experimental quantum science, with applications to precision measurement, nanomechanical transducers and quantum information processing. We will design and demonstrate new experimental devices, grounded in a long-standing expertise in quantum optics, and enabled by a new low temperature laboratory under development at The Universit ....Nonlinear quantum science with superconducting circuit quantum-electrodynamics. Circuit quantum electrodynamics has rapidly emerged in recent years as a new field of experimental quantum science, with applications to precision measurement, nanomechanical transducers and quantum information processing. We will design and demonstrate new experimental devices, grounded in a long-standing expertise in quantum optics, and enabled by a new low temperature laboratory under development at The University of Queensland. This project will deliver a new technological capability for Australia.Read moreRead less
Quantum control of decoherence in mesoscopic spin systems. Quantum mechanics provides a yet untapped resource in the construction of new technologies that span the range from computation to biomedical sensing. This project will tackle the most serious challenge facing quantum technologies based on spins in condensed matter systems: decoherence from fluctuating magnetic fields in the mesoscopic environment. Via quantum control and feedback methods this project will devise and demonstrate new tech ....Quantum control of decoherence in mesoscopic spin systems. Quantum mechanics provides a yet untapped resource in the construction of new technologies that span the range from computation to biomedical sensing. This project will tackle the most serious challenge facing quantum technologies based on spins in condensed matter systems: decoherence from fluctuating magnetic fields in the mesoscopic environment. Via quantum control and feedback methods this project will devise and demonstrate new techniques to 'keep alive' quantum coherent states of matter, a key step towards constructing large-scale quantum devices from inherently scalable building blocks.
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Observing the quantum chaotic trajectories of a single nucleus. This project aims to explain the fundamental link between quantum chaos, quantum measurement and the quantum/classical transition. This will be achieved by observing the chaotic dynamics of a highly controllable, extremely coherent, single nuclear spin - the world-first experimental demonstration of quantum chaos in a single particle. The project expects to deepen our understanding and control of the physical world and has potential ....Observing the quantum chaotic trajectories of a single nucleus. This project aims to explain the fundamental link between quantum chaos, quantum measurement and the quantum/classical transition. This will be achieved by observing the chaotic dynamics of a highly controllable, extremely coherent, single nuclear spin - the world-first experimental demonstration of quantum chaos in a single particle. The project expects to deepen our understanding and control of the physical world and has potential to benefit the industry sector.Read moreRead less
Quantum sensing from the bottom up with engineered semiconductor devices. This project aims to develop electronic devices that work as sensors of electromagnetic fields, wherein genuine quantum effects are used to reach unprecedented gains in sensitivity. It combines the significance of unveiling the fundamental limits of quantum-enhanced metrology, with the convenience of doing so in potentially manufacturable semiconductor devices. The expected outcome is a novel, bottom-up understanding of ho ....Quantum sensing from the bottom up with engineered semiconductor devices. This project aims to develop electronic devices that work as sensors of electromagnetic fields, wherein genuine quantum effects are used to reach unprecedented gains in sensitivity. It combines the significance of unveiling the fundamental limits of quantum-enhanced metrology, with the convenience of doing so in potentially manufacturable semiconductor devices. The expected outcome is a novel, bottom-up understanding of how best to utilize exotic quantum states of matter and fields for metrological advantage. These results will inform the design of the next-generation of extreme quantum sensors, with potential impact ranging from fundamental physics research to applications in mining or defense.Read moreRead less
Building time crystals with ultracold atoms. This project aims to create a new exotic form of quantum matter in which a many-body system of ultracold atoms bouncing on a vibrating mirror spontaneously self-organises its motion with a period tens of times longer than the driving period of the mirror. Such ‘time crystals’ are predicted to be robust against external perturbations and to persist for very long times. The project expects to generate new knowledge on exotic non-equilibrium crystalline ....Building time crystals with ultracold atoms. This project aims to create a new exotic form of quantum matter in which a many-body system of ultracold atoms bouncing on a vibrating mirror spontaneously self-organises its motion with a period tens of times longer than the driving period of the mirror. Such ‘time crystals’ are predicted to be robust against external perturbations and to persist for very long times. The project expects to generate new knowledge on exotic non-equilibrium crystalline phenomena in the time domain, such as many-body localisation with temporal disorder, which has counter-intuitive characteristics such as absence of thermalisation and vanishing direct current transport. Time crystals could provide significant benefits for the storage and transfer of quantum information, and this, and other outcomes may ultimately lead to commercial products.Read moreRead less
Transport and impurity dynamics in a unitary Fermi gas. This project aims to generate new understandings of transport and the behaviour of impurities in a gas of strongly-interacting atoms cooled to nanoKelvin temperatures. By measuring the response of a unitary Fermi gas to disturbances with well-defined momenta and energies, we will map the elementary excitations in both the superfluid and normal fluid phases. From this, the parameters that define how particles and impurities travel through th ....Transport and impurity dynamics in a unitary Fermi gas. This project aims to generate new understandings of transport and the behaviour of impurities in a gas of strongly-interacting atoms cooled to nanoKelvin temperatures. By measuring the response of a unitary Fermi gas to disturbances with well-defined momenta and energies, we will map the elementary excitations in both the superfluid and normal fluid phases. From this, the parameters that define how particles and impurities travel through the system can be determined. Our study will reveal whether the unitary Fermi gas approaches a conjectured quantum limit for perfect fluidity, examine how the properties of the gas depend on impurity concentration and establish new benchmarks for theories of strongly-correlated quantum matter.Read moreRead less