Associate Professor of Physics
- Address:
- GCIS E131
- Phone:
- (773) 702-7191
- Email:
- david.schuster@uchicago.edu
- Visit the Group
- http://schusterlab.uchicago.edu/
Research
Quantum mechanical effects form the basis of nearly all modern electronics and methods of light generation. The discreteness of energy transitions underlies the remarkable stability of lasers and atomic clocks, which can be precise to an astonishing degree of 1e-17. It is used as the basis of nearly every standard of measurement, including voltage, resistance, current, temperature, and, soon, mass. It also provides the nonlinearity exploited by transistors. Interference is employed by the most exquisite modern sensors, including the SQUID, atomic magnetometers, and gravity gradiometers. Although these devices rely on quantum mechanics, they operate on classical signals and information. Systems that are fully quantum-mechanical could, in principle, exploit entanglement to solve certain problems exponentially faster than classical systems and enhance metrology. My group studies fully-quantum systems experimentally, employing a technique known as circuit quantum electrodynamics. In this method, microwave photons are manipulated by superconducting circuits that maintain quantum coherence. These circuits are readily manipulated and have the potential to interact with many quantum systems. In particular, I plan to use them as a "quantum bus" to explore other quantum systems and connect them together.
Topics: Quantum Computing