LTPN’s research covers the fields of quantum optics, many-body open quantum systems, quantum information and quantum computing, with the overarching goal of exploring the frontiers of modern quantum science and technology.
The main focus of research at LTPN is the study and modeling of open quantum systems, i.e. systems that are subject to the influence of the surrounding environment in the form of driving, losses, and phase noise. Systems involving electromagnetic transitions naturally belong to this category, including ultracold atoms, trapped ions, Rydberg atoms, circuit QED systems, optomechanical systems, and semiconductor nanostructures, to name a few. In particular, a focus of the research at LTPN is the simulation of novel quantum computing platforms, and of the effects of noise on quantum computations.
Using the theory of open quantum systems, as well as advanced numerical methods, researchers at LTPN investigate emergent phenomena like dissipative phase transitions, and explore novel schemes for applications in quantum information, such as bosonic quantum error correction codes.
As the numerical modeling of open quantum systems with many degrees of freedom is an intrinsically complex task, one research line at LTPN pursues the development of new efficient numerical methods based on tensor networks, neural networks and quantum Monte Carlo, as well as novel quantum-inspired classical algorithms. In parallel, quantum algorithms are studied for the simulation of open quantum systems with quantum advantage.
As a complementary research activity, artificial photonic nanostructures are modeled and optimized using a novel combination of smart modal expansion, global optimization algorithms and machine learning. Highlights of this research line were the recent world records in the quality factor of photonic crystal cavities and broad-band slow light in coupled cavity waveguides.