Monika Schleier-Smith is the 2024 YQI Distinguished Lecturer in recognition of her achievements as a leading scientist in the field, in particular her groundbreaking work on advancing optical control of interactions among laser-cooled atoms.
Atoms Interlinked by Light: Programmable Interactions and Entanglement
The power of quantum information lies in its capacity to be non-local, encoded in correlations among entangled particles. Yet the interactions between particles are typically local, forming a bottleneck in the production of entanglement. To circumvent this limitation in the laboratory, we trap an array of atom clouds in an optical resonator, in which photons act as messengers conveying information between distant atoms. We have developed a versatile experimental toolbox for programming the network of interactions and correlations arising from these photon-mediated interactions, including a broadly applicable protocol for preparing entangled graph states with arbitrary connectivity. I will present experiments illustrating implications for multiparameter quantum sensing and for quantum simulations of phenomena ranging from topological physics to quantum gravity
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The Yale Quantum Institute Distinguished Lecturer recognizes a researcher whose work significantly advances quantum science, with emphasis on the areas of mesoscopic physics, nanoscience, quantum information, quantum computing and related theoretical and mathematical topics.
Annually, a YQI Distinguished Lecturer will be invited to visit the Yale Quantum Institute with a $1000 honorarium to deliver a lecture about a specific research result of great significance or a body of important work which has advanced our understanding in one or several sub-fields of quantum science. The Lecture is often given during Quantum Week at Yale for achievements the year before.
Candidates eligible for the title of YQI Distinguished Lecturer must be within 12 years of receiving their PhD. All travel and accommodation costs will be covered by YQI in addition to the honorarium.