Acronym
PICC
Full Title
The physics of Ion Coulomb Crystals: Thermodynamics, Quantum Control, and Quantum Simulators
Programme
FP7–ICT-2009-C, FET Open scheme, Collaborative Project
Contract number
249958
Abstract
The ability to control the dynamics of quantum systems with increasing size and complexity is a prerequisite of quantum technologies. In the quest for the realization of quantum information processors, trapped ions occupy a prominent position. The challenge of realizing large-scale processors and quantum simulators based on ions will, however, require dealing with more complex structures, which may include mesoscopic ordered ion ensembles, i.e., ion Coulomb crystals. In this regime, it is expected that the effect of noise will grow in importance and the control techniques, which have been so successfully applied to small numbers of ions, will be inefficient. This raises the timely issue of identifying novel and efficient strategies for controlling the quantum dynamics and manipulating the quantum state of ion Coulomb crystals.
The PICC proposal represents a joint theoretical and experimental effort whose aims are
- to identify tools for controlling ion crystals as their size is scaled up,
- to develop strategies for implementing controlled quantum dynamics of mesoscopic ion Coulomb crystals in a noisy environment and
- to explore the capability of ion Coulomb crystals as quantum simulators.
The long-term vision underlying this project is to engineer quantum correlations and entanglement in ion Coulomb crystals in order to exploit them for technological purposes of different kinds.
It is expected that this effort will pave the way for what could be the realization of the first specific-purpose, large scale quantum processors, complementing existing efforts with the alternative system of neutral atoms in optical lattices.
Duration
36 months (start date: 01 June 2010)
Project Funding
3,030,000 €
Coordinator
Saarland University
Department of Theoretical Physics
Prof. Dr. Giovanna Morigi
Phone +49 (0)681 302 57472
Email
Partners
- European Research and Project Office GmbH, Germany (Corinna Hahn)
- Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, United Kingdom
Blackett Laboratory, Department of Physics, Faculty of Natural Sciences (Prof. Richard Thompson) - Aarhus University, Denmark
Institute of Physics and Astronomy (Mr. Michael Drewsen) - Tel-Aviv University, Israel
Department of Physics (Prof. Benni Reznik) - Ulm University, Germany
Institute of Theoretical Physics (Prof. Dr. Martin B. Plenio) - University of Siegen, Germany
Department of Physics, Quantum Optics (Prof. Dr. rer.nat. Christof Wunderlich) - University Complutense de Madrid, Spain
Department of Theoretical Physics (Dr. Miguel Ángel Martín-Delgado Alcántara - Max Planck Society, Germany (Dr. Tobias Schätz)
Contact at Eurice
Nina Lind
Project Officer
Phone: +49 (0)681 9592 3367
Email