Entanglement Resource Extraction in Quantum Many Body Systems

Entanglement in quantum many body systems has been the subject of much research interest since the ability to quantify it first arose. Previous studies have studied the entanglement between two individual spins in a bipartite system; between contiguous blocks of many spins; and between blocks of spins spatially separated from one another. What remains to be studied in detail is the entanglement between distant blocks of spins which belong to the same chain. This is a useful characterisation to make, since it allows for the study of systems whereby external probes interact with the chain and become entangled to one another - thus the natural entanglement in the spin chain can be extracted for use as a resource. The extraction of entanglement in this way is preferable to generation, since it effectively comes for free. The primary aim of this research is to investigate such an entanglement model in various condensed matter systems, and aims to provide a theoretical proposal for its extraction. A further aim is then to investigate the application of this scheme in quantum metrology, and also in investigating the entanglement structure of relativistic fields.

Quantum technologies promise a transformation of the fields of measurement, communication and information processing. They present a particular opportunity since they are disruptive technologies: not only do they offer a chance for rapid growth but they also allow lesser participants in a field (such as the UK in IT) to become major players through appropriate risk-taking and manpower development. Students graduating from the InQuBATE Skills Hub will have the right mindset to work in the industries where quantum technologies will be applied, and help to break down the traditional barriers between those sectors to make this transformation happen. They will have all the necessary technical and transferable skills, plus a network of contacts with our partners, their fellow cohort members and the academic supervisors.

Our commercial partners are keen to help our students realise their potential and achieve the impact we expect of them, through the training they offer and their contributions to the centre's research. They include companies who have already developed quantum technologies to products in quantum communication (Toshiba) and optimization (D-Wave), large corporates who are investing in quantum technology because they see its potential to transform their businesses in aerospace, defence, instrumentation and internet services (Lockheed Martin, Google,) and government agencies with key national responsibilities (NPL). We want to see the best communication of our students' research, so our students will benefit from the existing training programme set up with a leading scientific publisher (Nature Publishing Group); we also want to see more of the future companies that lead this field based the UK, so we have partnered with venture capital group DFJ Esprit to judge and mentor the acceleration of our students' innovations toward the market.