(This is the second of two background posts for a peer-reviewed research blogging post that has now slipped to tomorrow. I started writing it, but realized that it needed some more background information, which became this post. And now I don’t have time to write the originally intended post…) Making a quantum computer is a… Continue reading What Do You Need to Make a Quantum Computer?
Category: Quantum Optics
Lab Visit Report: Unusual Lattices
In one of his March Meeting posts, Doug Natelson writes about laser cooling experiments that explore condensed matter phenomena: While the ultracold gases provide an exquisitely clean, tunable environment for studying some physics problems, it’s increasingly clear to me that they also have some significant restrictions; for example, while optical lattices enable simulations of some… Continue reading Lab Visit Report: Unusual Lattices
Lab Visit Report: Four-Wave Mixing
The next lab visit experiments I want to talk about are really the epitome of what I called the “NIST Paradigm” in an earlier post. These are experiments on “four-wave mixing” done by Colin McCormick (who I TA’d in freshman physics, back in the day), a post-doc in Paul Lett’s lab at NIST. As Paul… Continue reading Lab Visit Report: Four-Wave Mixing
Lab Visit Report: Cavity QED
While Kate was off being all lawyerly at her NAAG workshop, I spent my time visiting my old group at NIST, and some colleagues at the University of Maryland. This wasn’t just a matter of feeling like I ought to do something work-like while she was workshopping– I genuinely enjoy touring other people’s labs, and… Continue reading Lab Visit Report: Cavity QED
Quantum Teleportation (for Dogs)
I gave a talk at Boskone in the prime Sunday 10 am slot, on quantum teleportation. I read the opening dialogue from Chapter 8 of the book, and then did a half-hour (or so) explanation of the real physics behind quantum teleportation. If you weren’t one of the thirty-ish people who watched at least part… Continue reading Quantum Teleportation (for Dogs)
How to Hand-Wave Quantum Phase?
Kind of a technical question, but typing it out might provide some inspiration, or failing that, somebody might have a good suggestion in the comments. Here’s the issue: I’m starting on a chapter about quantum teleportation for the book, and one of the key steps in the teleportation scheme is an entangling measurement of two… Continue reading How to Hand-Wave Quantum Phase?
Many Worlds, Many Headaches
So, I’ve put myself into a position where I need to spend a substantial amount of time thinking about weird foundational issues in quantum mechanics. This has revealed to me just why it is that not that many people spend a substantial amount of time thinking about weird foundational issues in quantum mechanics. Let’s consider… Continue reading Many Worlds, Many Headaches
Watching Wavefunctions Collapse
In a comment to the book announcement, “HI” makes a request: Would you be able to summarize the recent paper “Progressive field-state collapse and quantum non-demolition photon counting” (Nature. 2007 Aug 23;448(7156):889-93) for non-specialists? How do you interpret it? This probably would’ve slipped by me if not for this comment, but it’s a really nice… Continue reading Watching Wavefunctions Collapse
Crystal healing
Lest this blog turn into a one-trick pony, let me tell you what I did today that’s of a little different flavor. I epoxied some stuff onto some other stuff. More importantly, I calculated a band structure. This amazes me. Sure, all you squa^Wsolid-state types out there do this every day, over your cereal even,… Continue reading Crystal healing
The Life Cycle of a Microwave Photon
After a short post-March Meeting lag, Physics World is back to announcing really cool physics results, this time highlighting a paper in Nature (subscription required) by a French group who have observed the birth and death of photons in a cavity. I’m not sure how it is that the French came to dominate quantum optics,… Continue reading The Life Cycle of a Microwave Photon