PhD Thesis Defense: Clai Owens | Department of Physics

9:00–10:00 am KPTC 206
5720 South Ellis Ave.

CREATING QUANTUM TOPOLOGICAL MATERIALS WITH 3D MICROWAVE PHOTONS

The recent rapid advancement in the ability to create and manipulate superconducting qubit systems has created an exciting opportunity to construct quantum materials from the ground up, artificial atom by atom. This defense will explore the creation of a new architecture of quantum simulation in which we use the circuit quantum electrodynamics toolbox to build quantum topological materials that so far have proven difficult to understand with theory,simulate with computational methods, and realize/measure with other quantum systems.Specifically we design a two-dimensional material in which microwave photons living in a superconducting 3D microwave cavity lattice interact strongly with a time-reversal symmetry breaking magnetic field and with each other. This is the first photonic topological lattice platform compatible with strong interactions. The combination of these interactions will enable the study of fractional quantum Hall systems, where fractionally charged particles called anyons are theorized to exist. The defense will discuss how to engineer a tunable, low-loss microwave lattice, create a magnetic field for chargeless photons using ferrite crystals, generate inter-particle interactions using Josephson junction transmon qubits, and the potential applications.

Event Type

Aug 30