{"109721":{"#nid":"109721","#data":{"type":"news","title":"$8.5 Million Research Initiative Will Study Best Approaches for Quantum Memories","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) has awarded $8.5 million to a consortium of seven U.S. universities that will work together to determine the best approach for generating quantum memories based on interaction between light and matter. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe team will consider three different approaches for creating entangled quantum memories that could facilitate the long-distance transmission of secure information. The five-year Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI) will be led by the Georgia Institute of Technology and include scientists from Columbia University, Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Michigan, Stanford University and the University of Wisconsin.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe want to develop a set of novel and powerful approaches to quantum networking,\u201d said \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.physics.gatech.edu\/user\/alex-kuzmich\u0022\u003EAlex Kuzmich\u003C\/a\u003E, a professor in Georgia Tech\u2019s \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.physics.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Physics\u003C\/a\u003E and the MURI\u2019s principal investigator.\u0026nbsp; \u201cThe three basic capabilities will be (1) storing quantum information for longer periods of time, on the order of seconds, (2) converting the information to light, and (3) transmitting the information over long distances. We aim to create large-scale systems that use entanglement for quantum communication and potentially also quantum computing.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe MURI scientists will study three different physical platforms for designing the matter-light interaction used to generate the entangled photons.\u0026nbsp; These include neutral atom memories with electronically-excited Rydberg-level interactions, nitrogen-vacancy (NV) defect centers in diamonds, and charged quantum dots.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cA large body of work has been initiated in this area over the past 15 years by our team members and their research groups,\u201d Kuzmich noted. \u201cThe physical approaches are different, but the goals are closely related, so there are significant opportunities for synergistic activities. Through this MURI, we will be able to interact more closely, communicate more quickly and provide new opportunities for our students and postdoctoral fellows.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOverall, the MURI has four major goals:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003ETo implement efficient light-matter interfaces using three different approaches to entanglement;\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003ETo realize entanglement lifetimes of more than one second in both the nitrogen-vacancy centers and atomic quantum memories;\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003ETo implement two-qubit quantum states within memory nodes;\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003ETo integrate different components and physical implementations into small units capable of significant quantum processing tasks.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Cp\u003EQuantum memories generated from the interaction of neutral atoms and light now have maximum lifetimes of approximately 200 milliseconds.\u0026nbsp; But improvements beyond memory lifetime will be needed before practical systems can be created.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe aim to be able to combine systems, so that instead of just one memory entangled with one photon, perhaps we could have four of them,\u201d Kuzmich added.\u0026nbsp; \u201cThis may look like a straightforward thing to do, but this is not easy in the laboratory.\u0026nbsp; The improvements must be made at every level, so the difficulty is significant.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAmong the challenges ahead are maintaining separation between the different memory systems, and minimizing loss of light as signals propagate through the optical fiber systems that would be used to transmit entangled photons. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cLight is easily lost, and there\u2019s not much that can be done about that from a fundamental physics standpoint,\u201d said Kuzmich.\u0026nbsp; \u201cThe rates of these protocols go down rapidly as you try to scale up the systems.\u201d \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EKuzmich and his Georgia Tech research team have been developing quantum memory based on the interaction of light with neutral atoms such as rubidium.\u0026nbsp; They have made substantial progress over the past decade, but he says it\u2019s not clear which approach will ultimately be used to create large-scale quantum communication system.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe most immediate applications for the quantum memory are in secure communications, in which the entanglement of photons with matter would provide a new form of encryption.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe immediate focus is on communication, including memories and distributed systems, which is important for sharing and transmitting information,\u201d Kuzmich explained.\u0026nbsp; \u201cIt also has implications for quantum computation because similar techniques are often used.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn addition to Kuzmich, collaborators in the MURI include:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003ELuming Duan, professor of physics in the School of Physics at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EDirk Englund, assistant professor of electrical engineering and applied physics in the School of Engineering and Applied Science at Columbia University, New York, New York.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EMarko Lonkar, associate professor of electrical engineering in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EBrian Kennedy, professor of physics in the School of Physics at the Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EMikhail Lukin, professor of physics in the Department of Physics at Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EMark Saffman, professor of physics in the Department of Physics at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EJelena Vuckovic, associate professor of electrical engineering in the Department of Electrical Engineering at Stanford University, Stanford, California.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EVladan Vuletic, the Lester Wolfe Professor of Physics in the School of Physics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EThad Walker, professor of physics in the Department of Physics at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIf we are successful with this over the next five years, long-distance quantum communications may become promising for real-world implementation,\u201d Kuzmich added.\u0026nbsp; \u201cIntegrating these advances with existing infrastructure \u2013 optical fiber that\u2019s in the ground \u2013 will continue to be an important engineering challenge.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThis material is based upon work conducted under contract FA9550-12-1-0025.\u0026nbsp; Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed are those of the researchers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Air Force Office of Scientific Research.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EResearch News \u0026amp; Publications Office\u003Cbr \/\u003EGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003Cbr \/\u003E75 Fifth Street, N.W., Suite 314\u003Cbr \/\u003EAtlanta, Georgia\u0026nbsp; 30308\u0026nbsp; USA\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMedia Relations Contacts\u003C\/strong\u003E: John Toon (404-894-6986)(\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E) or Abby Robinson (404-385-3364)(\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:abby@innovate.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Eabby@innovate.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWriter\u003C\/strong\u003E: John Toon\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Air Force Office of Scientific Research Supports Multiple Universities"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) has awarded $8.5 million to a consortium of seven U.S. universities that will work together to determine the best approach for generating quantum memories based on interaction between light and matter. \u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"An $8.5 million contract will support evaluation of multiple approaches for producing quantum memory."}],"uid":"27303","created_gmt":"2012-02-15 16:52:16","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:11:44","author":"John Toon","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2012-02-15T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2012-02-15T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"109701":{"id":"109701","type":"image","title":"Quantum Memory Research Equipment","body":null,"created":"1449178201","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:30:01","changed":"1475894728","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:45:28","alt":"Quantum Memory Research Equipment","file":{"fid":"194056","name":"quantum-information134.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/quantum-information134_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/quantum-information134_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1449159,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/quantum-information134_0.jpg?itok=qJEt9koE"}}},"media_ids":["109701"],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"147","name":"Military Technology"},{"id":"150","name":"Physics and Physical Sciences"}],"keywords":[{"id":"24201","name":"Alex Kuzmich"},{"id":"3135","name":"entanglement"},{"id":"1744","name":"quantum"},{"id":"24191","name":"quantum memory"},{"id":"166937","name":"School of Physics"},{"id":"171187","name":"secure communication"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJohn Toon\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EResearch News \u0026amp; Publications Office\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E404-894-6986\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jtoon@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}