Coherent quantum matter out of equilibrium - from fundamental physics towards applications
Lead Research Organisation:
University College London
Department Name: Physics and Astronomy
Abstract
The main aim of this project is to explore novel emergent phenomena in far from equilibrium quantum systems across different fields of research: from solid-state light-matter systems such as superconducting circuits, semiconductor micro-structures and quantum spins to ultra-cold atomic gases. Such cross-fertilisation between traditionally distinct areas is an essential ingredient in successful approach to understanding far from equilibrium collective processes together with the development of new efficient theoretical tools. EPSRC Physics Grand Challenge Survey has identified that "compared with that of equilibrium states, our understanding of states far from equilibrium is in its infancy" and that "on the theory front, there are significant gaps in knowledge, especially in quantum theory". At the same time the problem is "of considerable scientific and technological importance" and "with unforeseeable potential for applications". We shall study exotic quantum orders, bistabilities, pattern formation and other collective phenomena in state-of-the art light-matter systems. An important aspect of our project is to focus on systems, or their features, which in the longer run could lead to potential device applications: from polariton lasers and LEDs, low threshold optical switches, optical transistors, logic gates and finally polariton integrated circuits to quantum computers. Our theoretical analysis will be linked directly to the experiments of our project partners worldwide.
Planned Impact
Who will benefit from this research?
There are four classes of beneficiaries:
1) high-tech industry;
2) general public (science minded pupils, students, people interested in basic knowledge);
3) PDRAs and Warwick students;
4) other academics in PI's and other research areas.
How will they benefit from this research?
1 class) Superconducting qubits are leading the way in solid state quantum computing architectures with the largest potential for the transfer to industry. Semiconductor microcavities allow the observation of quantum effects at high up to room temperatures, and so the applications to new generation optoelectronic devices such as new light sources, polariton lasers, optical switches, transistors, logic gates, spintronic devices, etc. are widely discussed. Ultra-cold atomic gases are promising systems for precision measurements and high quality sensors with multi-disciplinary applications. Research towards understanding and controlling these systems brings potential applications closer to life, and in particular the research on polaritonic devices is directly part of the project.
2 class) The project is concerned with fundamental problems of non-equilibrium quantum physics, which have been identified in the UK as one of the main Physics Grand Challenges. Thus, if successful, this research will make its way to text-books, will broaden our general understanding of fundamental properties of matter, and be part of this exciting knowledge, which inspire imagination of new generation of students and encourage them to take physics degrees.
3 class) PDRAs positions, funded by this project, and PhD studentship committed by the Department, will provide excellent career development and training opportunities by combining analytical and numerical research with the direct interaction with experiment. The project will have a direct educational impact on Warwick undergraduates (final year project students) by exposing them to challenging theoretical problems, relevant to the state-of-the-art experiments. It will motivate them to continue onto research degrees and teach them skills relevant also in other type of employment (analysing data, comparing predictions of theoretical models to experimental results).
4 class) Outcomes of this research will benefit other researchers (both experimentalists and theorists) working in the areas of circuit QED, polariton BEC and superfluidity, solid-state condensation and coherence, superconductivity, ultra-cold atomic gases, on control problems in quantum mechanics, on general non-equilibrium field theory techniques, quantum optics, astrophysics, and nuclear physics (project or cold fermions). They will benefit from the results, and from the methods and numerical codes developed.
What will be done to ensure they have the opportunity to benefit from this research?
We will disseminate results at international conferences and will keep PI's web-pages updated with talks, preprints, publications and summaries. We will design separate pages with popular science explanations suitable for general public and students, and with technical details aimed at other academics and industry. We will also undertake some school outreach activities and will organise a multi-disciplinary workshop devoted to phenomena far from equilibrium in different quantum systems. If any commercially relevant outcomes appear as a result of this research, we will initiate discussions with Warwick Ventures, the University's technology transfer office, in order to properly exploit it. Also, the PI proposes to dedicate time to examine some of the possible industrial applications of our results and, in case of commercially relevant outcomes, to establish contact with industry.
There are four classes of beneficiaries:
1) high-tech industry;
2) general public (science minded pupils, students, people interested in basic knowledge);
3) PDRAs and Warwick students;
4) other academics in PI's and other research areas.
How will they benefit from this research?
1 class) Superconducting qubits are leading the way in solid state quantum computing architectures with the largest potential for the transfer to industry. Semiconductor microcavities allow the observation of quantum effects at high up to room temperatures, and so the applications to new generation optoelectronic devices such as new light sources, polariton lasers, optical switches, transistors, logic gates, spintronic devices, etc. are widely discussed. Ultra-cold atomic gases are promising systems for precision measurements and high quality sensors with multi-disciplinary applications. Research towards understanding and controlling these systems brings potential applications closer to life, and in particular the research on polaritonic devices is directly part of the project.
2 class) The project is concerned with fundamental problems of non-equilibrium quantum physics, which have been identified in the UK as one of the main Physics Grand Challenges. Thus, if successful, this research will make its way to text-books, will broaden our general understanding of fundamental properties of matter, and be part of this exciting knowledge, which inspire imagination of new generation of students and encourage them to take physics degrees.
3 class) PDRAs positions, funded by this project, and PhD studentship committed by the Department, will provide excellent career development and training opportunities by combining analytical and numerical research with the direct interaction with experiment. The project will have a direct educational impact on Warwick undergraduates (final year project students) by exposing them to challenging theoretical problems, relevant to the state-of-the-art experiments. It will motivate them to continue onto research degrees and teach them skills relevant also in other type of employment (analysing data, comparing predictions of theoretical models to experimental results).
4 class) Outcomes of this research will benefit other researchers (both experimentalists and theorists) working in the areas of circuit QED, polariton BEC and superfluidity, solid-state condensation and coherence, superconductivity, ultra-cold atomic gases, on control problems in quantum mechanics, on general non-equilibrium field theory techniques, quantum optics, astrophysics, and nuclear physics (project or cold fermions). They will benefit from the results, and from the methods and numerical codes developed.
What will be done to ensure they have the opportunity to benefit from this research?
We will disseminate results at international conferences and will keep PI's web-pages updated with talks, preprints, publications and summaries. We will design separate pages with popular science explanations suitable for general public and students, and with technical details aimed at other academics and industry. We will also undertake some school outreach activities and will organise a multi-disciplinary workshop devoted to phenomena far from equilibrium in different quantum systems. If any commercially relevant outcomes appear as a result of this research, we will initiate discussions with Warwick Ventures, the University's technology transfer office, in order to properly exploit it. Also, the PI proposes to dedicate time to examine some of the possible industrial applications of our results and, in case of commercially relevant outcomes, to establish contact with industry.
People |
ORCID iD |
Marzena Szymanska (Principal Investigator / Fellow) |
Publications
Lledó C
(2020)
A dissipative time crystal with or without Z 2 symmetry breaking
in New Journal of Physics
Juggins RT
(2018)
Coherently driven microcavity-polaritons and the question of superfluidity.
in Nature communications
Au-Yeung R
(2022)
Condensation in hybrid superconducting-cavity-microscopic-spins systems with finite-bandwidth drive
in Physical Review B
Brookes P
(2021)
Critical slowing down in circuit quantum electrodynamics.
in Science advances
Ballarini D
(2020)
Directional Goldstone waves in polariton condensates close to equilibrium
in Nature Communications
Description | Quantera |
Amount | £1,470,890 (GBP) |
Funding ID | EP/R04399X/1 |
Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 02/2018 |
End | 02/2021 |
Description | Daniele |
Organisation | National Research Council |
Department | Nanotec - Institute of Nanotechnology |
Country | Italy |
Sector | Public |
PI Contribution | Helping to understand the outcomes of experiments. Modelling and simulating the physical phenomena experimentally studied in Lecce group. |
Collaborator Contribution | Performing experiments relevant to the theoretical work carried out in my group |
Impact | 1) Vortex and half-vortex stability in coherently driven spinor polariton fluid L. Dominici, J.M. Fellows, S. Donati, D. Ballarini, M. De Giorgi, F.M. Marchetti, B. Piccirillo, L. Marrucci, A. Bramati, G. Gigli, M.H. Szymanska, D. Sanvitto, Sci. Adv. 1, 11, e1500807 (2015) 2) Multicomponent polariton superfluidity in the optical parametric oscillator regime A. C. Berceanu, L. Dominici, I. Carusotto, D. Ballarini, E. Cancellieri, G. Gigli, M. H. Szymanska, D. Sanvitto, and F. M. Marchetti Phys. Rev. B 92, 035307 (2015) 3) Spontaneous vortex arrays in a parametrically driven polariton condensate J.O. Hamp, A.K. Balin, F.M. Marchetti, D. Sanvitto, M.H. Szymanska EPL (Europhysics Letters)110, 57006 (2015) 4) Merging of vortices and antivortices in polariton superfluids E. Cancellieri, T. Boulier, R. Hivet, D. Ballarini, D. Sanvitto, M. H. Szymanska, C. Ciuti, E. Giacobino, A. Bramati Phys. Rev. B 90, 214518 (2014) 5) Interaction-shaped vortex-antivortex lattices in polariton fluids R. Hivet, E. Cancellieri, T. Boulier, D. Ballarini, D. Sanvitto, F. M. Marchetti, M. H. Szymanska, C. Ciuti, E. Giacobino, A. Bramati Phys. Rev. B 90, 019904 (2014) 6)Control and ultrafast dynamics of a two-fluid polariton switch M. De Giorgi, D. Ballarini, E. Cancellieri, F. M. Marchetti, M. H. Szymanska, C. Tejedor, R. Cingolani, E. Giacobino, A. Bramati, G. Gigli, D. Sanvitto Phys. Rev. Lett. 109, 266407 (2012) |
Start Year | 2011 |
Description | Iacopo |
Organisation | University of Trento |
Department | Istituto Nazionale di Ottica Bose-Einstein Condensation (INO-CNR BEC) Centre |
Country | Italy |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | we have developed numerical codes for truncated Wigner approach and applied to non-equilibrium phase transitions in light-matter systems |
Collaborator Contribution | expert on truncated Wigner methods, provided advice how to develop the method and numerical codes |
Impact | Non-equilibrium Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless Transition in a Driven Open Quantum System G. Dagvadorj, J. M. Fellows, S. Matyjaskiewicz, F. M. Marchetti, I. Carusotto, M. H. Szymanska Phys. Rev. X 5, 041028 (2015) |
Start Year | 2014 |
Description | Madrid |
Organisation | Autonomous University of Madrid |
Department | The Department of Physics of Materials |
Country | Spain |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Theoretical work in the area of polariton superfluidity. Suggesting experiments to observe theoretically predicted phenomena. Analysis of experimental results. Modelling of experimental conditions and simulations for experiments |
Collaborator Contribution | Performing relevant experiments. Theoretical work in Dr Marchetti group. |
Impact | 1)Frictionless flow in a binary polariton superfluid E. Cancellieri, F. M. Marchetti, M. H. Szymanska, D. Sanvitto, C. Tejedor Phys. Rev. Lett. 108, 065301 (2012) 2)Onset and Dynamics of Vortex-Antivortex Pairs in Polariton Optical Parametric Oscillator Superfluids G. Tosi, F. M. Marchetti, D. Sanvitto, C. Anton, M. H. Szymanska, A. Berceanu, C. Tejedor, L. Marrucci, A. Lematre, J. Bloch, L. Vina Phys. Rev. Lett. 107, 036401 (2011) 3) Multistability of a two component exciton-polariton fluid E. Cancellieri, F. M. Marchetti, M. H. Szymanska, C. Tejedor Phys. Rev. B 83, 214507 (2011) 4) Superflow of resonantly driven polaritons against a defect E. Cancellieri, F. M. Marchetti, M. H. Szymanska, C. Tejedor Phys. Rev. B 82, 224512 (2010) 5) Propagating wavepackets and quantised currents in coherently driven polariton superfluids M. H. Szymanska, F. M. Marchetti, D. Sanvitto Phys. Rev. Lett. 105, 236402 (2010) 6) Spontaneous and Triggered Vortices in Polariton Optical-Parametric-Oscillator Superfluids F. M. Marchetti, M. H. Szymanska, C. Tejedor, D. M. Whittaker Phys. Rev. Lett. 105, 063902 (2010) 7) Persistent currents and quantised vortices in a polariton superfluid D. Sanvitto, F. M. Marchetti, M. H. Szymanska, G. Tosi, M. Baudisch, F. P. Laussy, D. N. Krizhanovskii, M. S. Skolnick, L. Marrucci, A. Lemaitre, J. Bloch, C. Tejedor, L. Vina Nature Physics 6, 527 (2010) |
Start Year | 2009 |
Description | Rob |
Organisation | Imperial College London |
Department | Department of Physics |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | theoretical analysis related to photon BEC |
Collaborator Contribution | theoretical (from the experimentalist perspective) and experimental analysis related to photon BEC |
Impact | Interactions in dye-microcavity photon condensates and the prospects for their observation R. A. Nyman and M. H. Szymanska Phys. Rev. A 89, 033844 (2014) |
Start Year | 2013 |
Description | Yamamoto |
Organisation | Stanford University |
Department | E. L. Ginzton Laboratory |
Country | United States |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | analysis of experimental data, theoretical description of experimental observations, interpretation of experimental findings |
Collaborator Contribution | experiments on spatial coherence of polariton condensate |
Impact | Power-law decay of the spatial correlation function in exciton-polariton condensates Georgios Roumpos, Michael Lohse, Wolfgang H. Nitsche, Jonathan Keeling, Marzena Hanna Szymanska, Peter B. Littlewood, Andreas Löffler, Sven Höfling, Lukas Worschech, Alfred Forchel, and Yoshihisa Yamamoto Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci 109, 6467 (2012) |
Start Year | 2010 |
Company Name | Magenium Limited |
Description | |
Year Established | 2021 |
Impact | not available yet |
Description | AMOPP open day |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
Results and Impact | AMOPP open day to show research activities for prospective PhD students |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013,2014,2015 |
Description | IOP public lecture |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | IOP Gareth Roberts Memorial Lecture - Designing a world from light |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
Description | TechGirls Outreach Program |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | Workshop on Quantum Technologies |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |