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Fluctuations in Atomtronic Circuits

Project description

Quantum circuits with ultracold neutral atoms

Since the first battery was invented in 1800, harnessing the flow of electrons has spurred innovations with inestimable impacts on society. More recently, the prospect of circuits utilising neutral currents of ultracold atoms flowing without dissipation in place of charged electrons promises analogous, yet complementary, advances in quantum technologies. These atomtronic circuits would not only enable rapid advances in the study of many-body physics, but also open the door to the realisation of a plethora of high-precision quantum devices such as quantum transistors and sensors as well as quantum information systems. The EU-funded FLAC project is modelling the dynamic behaviour of atomtronic circuits to provide the insight necessary for the design and development of next-generation atomtronic circuits.

Objective

Ultracold quantum gases provide a unique highly-controllable platform to test fundamental aspects of quantum mechanics and to engineer novel quantum technologies and sensing devices. Recently, an emerging subfield called “atomtronics” is attracting increasing interest. Atomtronics aims to study neutral atomic circuits in optical and magnetic traps, in a manner analogous, but complementary, to electronic circuits.

This proposal focusses on two key aspects in such systems, namely on modelling the dynamics in ring-trap geometries – which benefit from the topological protection of (neutral) atomic currents – and characterizing the dynamical emergence and transfer of coherence in analogue neutral-atomic transistors. The novel feature of this project is the inclusion of experimentally-relevant fluctuations via appropriate state-of-the-art modelling schemes (namely the stochastic Gross-Pitaevskii and the Zaremba-Nikuni-Griffin model) which fully include coupling of coherent and incoherent modes and associated fluctuations, made possible through high-performance computing simulations.

The specific end-goal is to provide an in-depth characterisation of the dynamics of coherence in such circuits, thus both addressing open questions in the literature and identifying from the theoretical perspective the optimal specifications and parameter regimes which experimentalists could use to create an advanced atomic sensing device (atomic analogue of the superconducting quantum-interference device) and an atomic ring-based transistor. The proposed research has strong connections with existing experimental implementations, including the existing/planned setups at FORTH (Crete) [von Klitzing's group] and LKB (Paris) [Beugnon/Dalibard group], where the applicant will perform targeted secondments with the aim of becoming more familiar with experimental issues and devising potential strategies, thus contributing to potential future implementations of such devices.

Coordinator

UNIVERSITY OF NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE
Net EU contribution
€ 212 933,76
Address
KINGS GATE
NE1 7RU Newcastle Upon Tyne
United Kingdom

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Region
North East (England) Northumberland and Tyne and Wear Tyneside
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
Links
Total cost
€ 212 933,76