OSC Colloquium: Michael Raymer "Quantum Enhanced Telescopy"

Dec. 3, 2021
Michael Raymer
Title: "Quantum Enhanced Telescopy: Very Long Baseline Interferometric Imaging using Single-Photon States as a Nonlocal Oscillator" 
Abstract(s): 
Recent proposals suggest that distributed single photons serving as a ‘nonlocal oscillator’ can outperform weak coherent states as a phase reference for long-baseline interferometric imaging (VLBI) of weak sources. [1, 2] Such nonlocal quantum states distributed between telescopes can, in-principle, surpass the limits of conventional interferometric-based astronomical imaging methods, which are limited by quantum shot noise, signal loss, or the faintness of the imaged objects. In an initial experiment by our group, photon inter­ference between a nonlocal single-photon state and a spectrally single-mode, quasi-thermal source has been implemented, enabling reconstruction of the source spatial distribution with increased usable signal per source photon detected in coincidence with the nonlocal oscillator photon – the first instance of quantum-enhanced sensing in this context. The longer-term goal is to discover the optimal quantum-enhanced protocol to achieve ultimate SNR and telescope resolution of faint astronomical objects. 
 
[1] D. Gottesman, T. Jennewein, and S. Croke, “Longer-baseline telescopes using quantum repeaters,” Phys. Rev. Lett. 109, 070503 (2012). 
[2] E. T. Khabiboulline, J. Borregaard, K. De Greve, and M. D. Lukin, Quantum-assisted telescope arrays, Phys. Rev. A 100, 022316 (2019). 
 
Speaker Bio(s): 
Michael Raymer is a Physics Professor and a Knight Professor of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of Oregon. His research is in quantum optics, atomic and molecular physics, and quantum information science. His current research includes the coherent manipulation of single-photon states for use in quantum communication systems and remote sensing, as well as the use of two-photon entangled states for probing the structure and dynamics of molecular systems. 
He graduated in physics and chemistry at the University of California Santa Cruz, and earned a PhD at the University of Colorado Boulder. He held a faculty position at the University of Rochester’s Institute of Optics before moving to UO in 1988. He was the founding Director of the UO’s Center for Optical, Molecular, and Quantum Science. With colleagues, he led a national effort to lobby the US government to support research in quantum information science and technology, leading to passage of the National Quantum Initiative Act in 2018.

 


 

 

 

 

Colloquium Calendar

Subscribe to Upcoming Colloquium Announcements

Cannot Attend In-Person? Attend Online!

Past Speakers

donna strickland colloquium
3:30 – 5 p.m., Dec. 5, 2024

OSC Colloquium: Donna Strickland, "High Intensity Fiber lasers for Nonlinear Optics"

Ti:sapphire lasers offer the largest bandwidths and therefore the shortest pulses.   The highest laser intensities have been achieved using Chirped Pulse Amplification (CPA) of large diameter solid state lasers.  CPA was needed to avoid damage from the nonlinear process of self-focusing.  The disadvantage of solid-state lasers is the limited average power.  On the other hand, diode pumped fiber laser systems offer significantly higher average power than solid state lasers. Self-focusing is eliminated in single mode fibers by guiding and so nonlinear optics can be beneficial rather than detrimental and used to broaden the gain bandwidth.  Single fiber laser amplifiers will not reach the highest intensities offered by solid state lasers, but in this talk, I will discuss developing fiber laser amplifiers for nonlinear optical interactions such as mid-infrared generation and laser acceleration of electrons that require high intensity and benefit from high average power.
Hendra Nurdin
3:30 – 5 p.m., Nov. 21, 2024

OSC Colloquium: Hendra Nurdin, "Physical Learning Machines: Classical and Quantum Reservoir Computers and Beyond"

This colloquium will give a brief introduction to reservoir computing, an overview of its theoretical foundations, including the notion of a universal family of reservoir computers that is capable of approximating a certain family of nonlinear maps from input sequences to output sequences, as well as its inherent limitations. It will then motivate and touch on efforts by the speaker and his collaborators to exploit noisy near-term quantum computers as quantum reservoir computers. Finally, the colloquium will conclude with a discussion of research directions for further development of quantum reservoir computers as well as research trends in the broader recent efforts on engineered physical learning machines going beyond reservoir computers.