News: Research Highlights

Thu January 1, 2009

High-sensitivity diamond magnetometer with nanoscale resolution

J. M. Taylor, P. Cappellaro, L. Childress, L. Jiang, D. Budker, P. R. Hmmer, A. Yacoby, R. Walsworth, and M. D.Lukin, High-sensitivity diamond magnetometer with nanoscale resolution, Nature Physics 4, 810-816 (2008).
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Thu January 1, 2009

Swimming in the Fermi Sea

Our world is run by electrons. Whether we switch on a light, browse the internet or play music on the iPod, it is electrons moving through the wires, chips and headphones. But how do electrons actually get from A to B? After all, they have to get through a solid, a crystal maze of countless atoms. On their way through the solid, electrons push and pull nearby atoms around, attracting positive charges and repelling negative ones. It’s like an espalier, with arms flying high wherever the electron goes. These distortions in the crystal lattice thus closely follow the electron, and in fact the electron and the lattice deformations can be said to form a new entity or “quasi-particle”, called the polaron. Since the electron has to drag the lattice distortions with it, the polaron is heavier than an electron moving in empty space. That means a polaron is less inclined than a ‘bare’ electron to change its speed or direction of motion if someone pulls on it. Polarons are ubiquitous in solid state materials, they are crucial for the understanding of colossal magnetoresistance, and they are responsible for conduction in fullerenes and polymers.

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Thu January 1, 2009

Modulation Spectroscopy and Dynamics of Double Occupancies in a Fermionic Mott Insulator

R. Sensarma, D. Pekker, M. D. Lukin, and E. Demler, Modulation Spectroscopy and Dynamics of Double Occupancies in a Fermionic Mott Insulator, Phys. Rev. Lett. 103, 035303 (2009).
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Thu January 1, 2009

A single spin — detected again and again

Detection of single spins is an important problem in quantum science and engineering. It plays a key role in the realization of quantum computation and communication as well as in quantum metrology and sensing.  Working with single particles is important to take advantage of quantum mechanical features associated with these phenomena.

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Thu January 1, 2009

Global Operations for Protected Quantum Memories in Atomic Spin Lattices

G. Brennan, K. Hammerer, L. Jiang, M. D. Lukin, and P. Zoller, Global Operations for Protected Quantum Memories in Atomic Spin Lattices, in press Phys. Rev. Lett. arXiv:0901.3920, (2009).
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Thu January 1, 2009

EIT in Buffer-gas Cooled Rb at 4 K

T. Hong, J.M. Doyle, M. Lukin, D. Patterson, A. Zibrov and M. Prentiss, Physical Review A accepted (2009)
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Thu January 1, 2009

Strong Magnetic Coupling between an Electronic Spin Qubit and a Mechanical Resonator

P. Rabl, P. Cappellaro, G. Dutt, L. Jiang, J. R. Maze, and M. D. Lukin, Strong Magnetic Coupling between an Electronic Spin Qubit and a Mechanical Resonator, Phys. Rev. B 79, 041302 (2009).
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Thu January 1, 2009

Alkaline-Earth-Metal Atoms as Few Qubit Quantum Registers

Gorshkov, A. M. Rey, A. J. Daley, M. M. Boyd, J. Ye, P. Zoller, and M. D. Lukin, Alkaline-Earth-Metal Atoms as Few Qubit Quantum Registers, Phys. Rev. Lett. 102, 110503 (2009).
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