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UID:6a6de9f308c7c
DTSTART:20260818T100000Z
SEQUENCE:0
TRANSP:OPAQUE
DTEND:20260818T110000Z
LOCATION:Blue Lecture Room 
SUMMARY:ICFO | DARRICK CHANG
CLASS:PUBLIC
DESCRIPTION:What would you do if you realized one day that everything you e
 ver learned about your field was based on a wrong assumption? And what wou
 ld you do with that new-found knowledge?​ ​ Within the field of quantu
 m optics\, the Maxwell-Bloch equations constitute the standard model to un
 derstand how atoms and light interact in free space. For example\, they fo
 rm the foundation by which we understand how to use such systems to implem
 ent quantum technologies. Unfortunately\, they also tell us a lot about wh
 at we cannot do. For example\, they hint that atom-light interfaces are ve
 ry susceptible to being describable by large-spin dynamics\, which prevent
 s one from accessing the full richness of quantum Hilbert space. Furthermo
 re\, they predict spontaneous emission of light by atoms into unwanted dir
 ections imposes insurmountable errors\, to be able to carry out many excit
 ing quantum applications.​ ​ Surprisingly though\, the Maxwell-Bloch e
 quations do not account for one of the fundamental principles of optics --
  that light waves interfere. This revelation opens up exciting routes to a
 ddress the limitations described above. For example\, by using destructive
  interference in dense ordered arrays\, one might be able to suppress unwa
 nted emission of light\, thus significantly reducing errors in quantum pro
 tocols and allowing richer quantum correlations to build up. In this talk\
 , I will discuss how this \"mistake\" snuck into the conventional theory\,
  how one can develop a new theory to account for wave interference effects
  in quantum atom-light interactions\, and how this revelation presents a g
 rand opportunity to reimagine what is possible with atoms and light.
DTSTAMP:20260801T124331Z
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