Dr. Qiming Wu
University of California, Berkeley
Abstract:
Quantum simulation offers a promising path to studying complex quantum behaviors that are intractable with classical computers by using well-controlled quantum systems to emulate the dynamics of more complex ones. While most quantum simulators focus on unitary evolutions, I will also discuss systems in which the quantum dynamics are neither perfectly isolated from the environment nor dominated by decoherence. Many striking phenomena, from synchronization to non-equilibrium phase transitions, arise from the competition between coherent dynamics and dissipation. I will present two representative examples from my work using trapped ions, which provide high-fidelity control over spin (qubit) and bosonic (vibrational) degrees of freedom with tunable couplings. First, I will show how tailored laser light can engineer interactions in quantum spin models beyond the well-established regime of power-law–decaying interactions. I will then turn to open quantum systems, where controlled dissipation is used as a tool to study non-equilibrium physics, such as quantum synchronization between self-sustained oscillators. The talk will conclude with an outline of future directions.