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CALSCALE:GREGORIAN
PRODID:UW-Madison-Physics-Events
BEGIN:VEVENT
SEQUENCE:0
UID:UW-Physics-Event-3914
DTSTART:20160407T150000Z
DURATION:PT1H0M0S
DTSTAMP:20260419T094245Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20160329T151635Z
LOCATION:5310 Chamberlin Hall
SUMMARY:Clearly witnessing the quantum fluctuations of a mechanical os
 cillator\, R. G. Herb Condensed Matter Seminar\, Dr. Ray Simmonds \, N
 IST\, Boulder
DESCRIPTION:<br>
\nCan a harmonic oscillator ever be truly at rest? It
  may seem strange\, but according to Heisenberg’s uncertainty princi
 ple\, the answer is: “no!” Even at a temperature of absolute zero\
 , in its lowest possible energy state or “ground state”\, the osci
 llator must still exhibit quantum fluctuations of its position and mom
 entum. Can we unambiguously detect motion of a purely quantum origin? 
 I will discuss a unique experiment that can unequivocally observe the 
 quantum fluctuations of a mechanical oscillator near its ground state 
 of motion. To do this\, we have created a hybrid system that merges a 
 microwave opto-mechanical element with a superconducting quantum bit (
 or qubit). Parametric coupling between the electrical and the mechanic
 al oscillators allows us to cool the mechanics to its ground state and
  then amplify the intrinsic quantum fluctuations in both oscillators i
 nto real energy quanta that can then be detected by the qubit\, which 
 effectively acts as an ideal single photon or phonon detector. Operate
 d in reverse\, this system could be used to prepare complex quantum st
 ates of mechanical motion or to generate entanglement between the mech
 anical phonons and the electrical microwave photons. Controlling the q
 uantum states of long-lived mechanical oscillators is important for ap
 plications in quantum information and for providing new\, powerful qua
 ntum-enhanced detection methods for unbeatable precision measurements.
 <br>
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URL:https://www.physics.wisc.edu/events/?id=3914
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