Semester Calendar Date

Controlling quantum ergodicity in molecules large and small: From C60 to ultracold alkali dimers

Abstract: Quantum ergodicity refers to the remarkable ability of quantum systems to explore their entire state space allowed by symmetry. Mechanisms for violating ergodicity are of fundamental interest in statistical and molecular physics and can offer novel insights into decoherence phenomena in complex molecular qubits.  I will discuss the recent experimental observation of ergodicity breaking in rapidly rotating C60 fullerene molecules as a function of rotational angular momentum [1].

A DMRG Study of Excitons in the 2D t-J Model

Abstract: Antiferromagnetic materials with microscopic behavior resembling that of the Fermi-Hubbard model are expected to host excitons, or bound electron-hole pairs. In order to investigate such behavior, we have optimized states of the t-J model in the single-particle-single-hole sector using the density matrix renormalization group (DMRG).

QCVV: Making Quantum Computers Less Broken

Abstract: Quantum computing hardware capabilities have grown tremendously over the past decade, as evidenced by demonstrations of both quantum advantage and error-corrected logical qubits.  These breakthroughs have been driven, in part, by advances in quantum characterization, verification, and validation (QCVV).  I will discuss how QCVV provides a hardware-agnostic framework for assessing the performance of quantum computers; I will describe in detail how specific QCVV protocols (such as gate set tomography and robust phase estimation) have been used to characterize and sig

Electron-Photon Exchange-Correlation Functional in the Weak and Strong Light–Matter Coupling Regimes

Abstract: The intersection of quantum electrodynamics (QED) and density-functional theory (DFT) has opened up exciting opportunities in controlling quantum matter through light-matter coupling. This frontier, however, is beset with computational challenges, especially in the weak and strong coupling regimes. Building upon previous research, we present the results of nonperturbative QED functional in the long-wavelength limit, centered solely on the matter Hilbert space.