An assortment of quantum technologies are being developed, for purposes such as precise sensing, quantum information processing, and quantum simulation of complex systems, in which light is used to cause quantum objects to interact and to allow their properties to be measured. By combining techniques of ultracold atomic physics and quantum optics, the speaker and his research group have developed a system in which both mechanical oscillators and also spin oscillators, both comprised of small batches of atoms trapped in vacuum, interact with the electromagnetic modes of a high-finesse optical cavity. This system has allowed them to explore optomechanical and magneto-optical interactions at distinctly quantum mechanical regimes. In this lecture, the speaker will highlight three major results from his work: the first demonstration of a force sensor operating at the standard quantum limit, the observation of coherent and incoherent backaction effects on spin oscillators coupled to an optical cavity, and an exploration of light-mediated interactions between two near-ground-state mechanical oscillators.
About the speaker
Prof Dan Stamper-Kurn received his BA in physics from University of California at Berkeley in 1992 and PhD in Physics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1999. He returned to University of California at Berkeley as an Assistant Professor in 2000 and is currently the Professor of Physics.
Prof Stamper-Kurn’s research interests focus on developing further capabilities in ultracold atomic physics, and utilizing the advances to study many-body quantum physics, to explore the "coherent optics" and "quantum optics" of matter waves, to realize novel consequences of light-atom interactions, and to perform precision measurements of scientific and technological importance.
Prof Stamper-Kurn received numerous awards including the 2000 APS Division of Atomic, Optical and Molecular Physics Outstanding Thesis award, the Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship (2001 – 2003), the David and Lucile Packard Fellowship in Science and Engineering (2002 – 2007), and the US Presidential Young Investigator Award in Science and Engineering (2002). He also held the Class of 1936 Second Chair in the College of Letters and Sciences at UC Berkeley in 2007 – 2012.
For attendees’ attention
The lecture is free and open to all. Seating is on a first come, first served basis.
