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University News | 4.26.2021

Harvard to Launch Quantum Science and Engineering Ph.D. Program

Renovation of 60 oxford street will create a quantum hub where theorists and engineers work side by side..

After renovation, 60 Oxford Street will become the hub for quantum science and engineering at Harvard. Photograph by Kristina DeMichele/Harvard Magazine. 

Harvard will launch a Ph.D. program in quantum science and engineering, one of the first in the world, the University announced today. The program has been designed to train the next generation of leaders and innovators in a domain of physics already having transformative effects on electrical engineering and computer science, biology and chemistry—and poised to transform other fields, too, as researchers demonstrate increasing capability to harness and control quantum effects that defy explanations based on the principles of classical physics alone. Simultaneously, the University revealed that it plans a major renovation of 60 Oxford Street in order to house key portions of its ambitious quantum program. The transformation of that 94,000 gross-square-foot building, constructed in 2007, into a quantum-science and engineering hub is made possible by what the University described in a statement as “generous support from Stacey L. and David E. Goel ’93 and several other alumni.”  

“Existing technologies,” said David Goel in the statement, “are reaching the limit of their capacity and cannot drive the innovation we need for the future, specifically in areas like semiconductors and the life sciences.” The co-founder and managing general partner of Matrix Capital Management Company, LP (a hedge fund based in Waltham, Massachusetts), called quantum science “an enabler, providing a multiplier effect…a catalyst that drives scientific revolutions and epoch-making paradigm shifts.” (The Goels  previously made a $100-million gift to catalyze the University’s formation of a performing-arts venue  in Allston that will include the relocated American Repertory Theater.) 

The new doctoral degree builds on the 2018 launch of the Harvard Quantum Initiative,  co-led  by Silsbee professor of physics John Doyle, Tarr-Coyne professor of applied physics and of electrical engineering Evelyn Hu, and Leverett professor of physics Mikhail Lukin. Its program of study will draw on existing courses in quantum science—which encompasses physics at the scale of atoms and sub-atomic particles, or that is linked to the discrete energy states (quanta) associated with these objects—as well as courses in materials science, photonics, computer science, chemistry, and related fields. The aim is to provide, within a community of scholars and engineers, a foundational core curriculum that Hu said will dramatically reduce “the time to basic quantum proficiency for a community of students who will be the future innovators, researchers, and educators in quantum science and engineering.” The  program is expected to admit its first cohort of Ph.D. candidates —about six students—in the fall of 2022; eventually, it will enroll 35 to 40 candidates. They will learn how to build quantum materials, including quantum bits (“qubits”) that perform switching functions analogous to those found in classical computers; how to stabilize and extend the life of quantum states; and how to design quantum information networks, among other skills. 

The Ph.D. program

Quantum science and engineering is “a brand new field in many ways,” explained Hu, the faculty co-director, with Doyle, of the new doctoral program. Although Harvard and other institutions have invested in the study of quantum physics for decades, “This particular moment is timely”—and unusual, she said in an interview: even though “there’s still a tremendous amount of basic science to explore, and fundamental scientific questions and challenges,…companies are seizing the opportunity to go forward with commercial products.” Industry has recognized that quantum behaviors can be harnessed for practical use, even without an understanding of precisely why they exist. The entanglement of particles is one example, because it enables unbreakable quantum cryptography over quantum communication networks. Entangled photons and electrons are particles that have become linked, so that the state of one, when queried, is instantaneously “communicated” to the other, no matter where or how far away in the universe that entangled counterpart might be. Thus, if someone tried to steal data encoded using a quantum key by probing one of the particles, the other particle would immediately reveal the interference.

Currently, there simply aren’t enough graduates with expertise in quantum engineering to satisfy corporate demand. To fill that gap and advance basic science research in the field, the new doctoral program, said Hu, will provide an integrated approach that builds on quantum behaviors in “not just physics, not just chemistry, electrical engineering, computer science, applied math, and mechanical engineering, but a whole host of other disciplines. That is what motivates the Ph.D. program that we just launched.”

Christopher Stubbs, science division dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences and Moncher professor of physics and of astronomy, called Harvard’s investment in the field—at a time when University budgets are constrained, and hiring of new faculty has been limited in many other areas—“significant.” Beyond the renovation of 60 Oxford Street, several searches for new faculty members are already under way, in hopes of recruiting as many as 10 during the next decade to join an already active group of researchers and educators in the field. Several current faculty members have made notable contributions within the quantum domain in the past year alone, including assistant professor of physics Julia Mundy (the recipient of a $875,000 Packard Award to pursue her research in novel quantum materials during the next five years); professor of physics in residence Susanne Yelin (named a fellow of the Optical Society for “pioneering theoretical work in quantum optics”); and Kahn associate professor of chemistry and chemical biology and of physics Kang-Kuen Ni. (In 2018, Ni joined atoms of sodium and cesium, which normally don’t react with each other, into a single molecule that lasted for an instant. This year, her lab members were able to extend the life of that dipolar molecule to three and half seconds—more than enough time to make it useful in quantum applications.)

Numerous existing centers throughout the University will add depth in both quantum science and engineering in a variety of specific research areas. The  Center for Integrated Quantum Materials , for example, is a National Science Foundation (NSF) Science and Technology Center for studying quantum materials with unconventional properties; the  Center for Nanoscale Systems  is focused on  the science of small things , and their integration into larger systems; the  Max Planck-Harvard Research Center for Quantum Optics  is a collaboration between the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics and Harvard’s physics department that conducts research and education in a broad range of quantum sciences including metrology (measurement) and quantum-based information science. And the Center for Ultracold Atoms is a joint NSF Physics Frontier Center run together with MIT, with which Harvard has a longstanding collaboration in quantum-science investigations. John Doyle adds that he and his colleagues want to expand on this constellation of domain expertise by establishing a center for quantum theory in the new building, to which they can invite colleagues from around the world. At the practical, hands-on end of the spectrum, the building will also feature an instructional lab where undergraduate and graduate students will have an opportunity to work with quantum systems. Common areas in the building, he added, will provide natural opportunities “for theorists and experimentalists to connect.”

“An incredible foundation has been laid in quantum and we are now at an inflection point to accelerate that activity,” summed up Frank Doyle, dean of the Harvard Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and Armstrong professor of engineering and applied sciences (and no relation to John Doyle). Collaborations, he emphasized, will play an important role in that acceleration. To speed the translation of applied research into industrial products, Dean Doyle described a vision for “integrated partnerships where we invite partners from the private sector to be embedded on the campus to learn from the researchers in our labs, and where our faculty connect to the private sector and national labs” that have been affiliated with five quantum-information science research centers funded by the U.S. Department of Energy. The broad aim, he said, is to learn about “cutting-edge applications, as well as help translate…basic research into useful tools for society.”

Even though engineering using quantum behaviors can advance ahead of basic scientific understanding in some cases, as Evelyn Hu pointed out, predicting the behavior of quantum systems will require quantum computational abilities. A key applied-research area that will advance both the basic science and the engineering involves quantum simulation, a precursor to broadly useful quantum computation. Quantum simulators can be used to describe and potentially predict the behavior of quantum systems and materials. For example, nuclear magnetic resonance imaging (NMR) is now being used at Brigham and Women’s Hospital to identify small molecules in living subjects. To identify the molecules, NMR relies on a quantum probabilistic process. Interpreting the results with traditional computers would take days, but pairing a classical computer with a quantum simulator—a special-purpose computer which itself operates on quantum probabilistic principles—can identify the molecules in minutes.  

In another example, quantum-materials engineers use one-atom-thick sheets of crystalline materials like graphene that have perfect symmetry (and no dangling bonds) to create new structures for controlling the behavior of electrons. When two sheets of this atomically identical material are placed atop one another, and one layer is then rotated slightly, a moiré pattern is created that contains areas of high and low energy—a kind of landscape of mountains and valleys with extraordinary tunable properties. Electrons trapped between the sheets congregate in the low-energy valleys, according to the bilayer material’s changing optical and electrical properties (which depend on the angle of rotation). But predicting exactly  what  those properties will be, so that they can be used for quantum-based electronics, is beyond the capability of classic computers, even those deploying artificial intelligence and advanced deep learning techniques.

Past successes in quantum-materials design, such as the  extraordinary development of the quantum cascade laser by Wallace professor of applied physics Federico Capasso , were based on the behavior of  single  particles. Now investigators hope to exploit the vastly greater intricacy of polyatomic molecules, with three or more atoms, to make materials and devices with complex properties unexplainable using classical models of physics. The University’s deepening research and development capacity in this transformative field, in collaboration with other institutions, national laboratories, and industry, appears poised to provide both solid and compelling training for prospective scholars.

Candidates interested in the new Ph.D. in quantum science and engineering can learn more about the program philosophy, curriculum, and requirements  here.

  Read the University announcement here. 

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Hong-Ye Hu (扈鸿业)

Harvard quantum initiative fellow.

I am currently a HQI research fellow in department of physics , and Harvard Quantum Initiative . I got my PhD in Physics at University of California San Diego in March 2022 with thesis "efficient representation and learning of quantum many-body states". My current research interest lies in the intersection among quantum computing , machine learning . In particular, I am currently interested in efficient sensing and learning of quantum states ,  quantum error correction, variational quantum algorithms, hybrid quantum-classical computation and quantum control .

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• Randomized toolbox: quantum state learning, quantum device characterization & benchmarking
• Machine learning of quantum many-body physics: machine learning of quantum dynamics, efficient classical simulation of quantum states
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• Quantum simulation: quantum dynamics and quantum chemistry
• Fellow of Harvard Quantum Initiative
• Nominee of  UC's President Dissertation Year Fellow  by Physics Department (2021)
• Chair's Challenge Award recipient, UCSD Physics Department. (2018)
• Honor title : ​Weiming scholar, Peking University. (2013-2016)
• Honor title : College Graduate Excellence Award of Beijing City. Ministry of Education. (2016)
• Gold Medal , China Undergraduate Physics Tournament, Peking University Team (2013)

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"To learn, read. To know, write, To master, teach" 

--- Hindu proverb

• Sept. 2022 - Present : Post-Doctoral Fellow at Harvard Quantum Initiative & Physics Department
• Jun. 2022 - Aug. 2022 : Quantum Algorithm Consultant at QuEra Computing Inc.
• Jun. 2021 - Jun. 2022 : Feynman Quantum Academy Intern with USRA and NASA Quantum AI Lab
• Mar. 2016 - Mar. 2022 : PhD, University of California San Diego, USA
• Sept. 2016 - Mar. 2018 : Research Assistant at Salk Institute for Biological Studies
• Sept. 2012- Jun. 2016 : BS, Peking University, China

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This description of the Applied Physics PhD course expectations augments the school-wide PhD course requirements .  Students should make themselves familiar with both.

Proposed Ph.D. plans that follow these guidelines, including one of the "tracks", will be automatically approved by the CHD, provided that they also comply with the overall SEAS Ph.D. requirements, in particular: 10 courses overall (8 disciplinary, 2 breadth), 5 of which must be 200-level SEAS or SEAS equivalent courses (courses taught in FAS by SEAS faculty), no more than 2 that are 100-level courses (of which only 1 counts as disciplinary). 

Students following these model programs/guidelines must take the Core Courses below as well as choose one of the Tracks described below. 

Plans that deviate from these guidelines will be reviewed by the CHD and approved on a case-by-case basis, although all plans must comply with the overall SEAS Ph.D. requirements.

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One graduate course in each of the three fields listed below (electromagnetism, quantum mechanics, statistical mechanics). In exceptional cases, the CHD may approve substituting one of the listed undergraduate courses.

Electromagnetism :  

• Graduate level: Physics 232, AP 216, AP 217, ES 273
• Undergraduate level (CHD approval required): ES 151

Quantum Mechanics :

• Graduate level: Quantum Science and Engineering (QSE 200/ES 200) , Physics 251a, Physics 251b, AP/Physics 295a, AP/Physics 295b, Chem 243
• Undergraduate level (CHD approval required): AP/Physics 195, Physics 143a, Physics143b, ES 170

*”Living Matter/Bio”-track students: see also the note regarding Quantum Mechanics in the track description given later on this page.

Statistical Mechanics :

• Graduate level: AP 284, AP 286, Physics 262
• Undergraduate level (CHD approval required): Physics 181, or (for students doing bio-related research) MCB 199

Track Courses

In addition to three core courses, Applied Physics Ph.D. students may choose one of the tracks below:

Take one course from each field below, preferably at the graduate level:

• Solid State: AP/Physics 295a, AP/Physics 195 (undergraduate level)
• Quantum Devices: ES 274
• Photonics/Nanoelectronics: AP 218, ES 273, Physics 223, ES 173 (undergraduate level)

Take one course from each field below:

• Continuum Mechanics: ES 220, ES 240
• Math and Computational Techniques: AM 201, AM 202, AM 203, AM 205, AM 207
• Soft Matter and Materials: AP 225, AP 226, AP 227, AP 282, AP 235

Take three of the four courses listed below:

• Solids: Structures and Defects: AP 282
• Properties of Materials: AP 218
• Kinetics of Condensed Phase Processes: AP 292
• Chemistry in Materials Science and Engineering: AP 235

AP graduate students are required to take a graduate-level quantum mechanics course. However, for students on the bio track whose work does not require expertise in this topic, the CHD may waive this requirement if the student petitions to do so and (a) submits proof of a good grade on an undergraduate level course in this topic, taken previously or at Harvard or (b) enrolls in a suitable undergraduate course. Students interested in option (a) should submit with their petition a syllabus for the course taken or specify the textbook, course instructor(s), and institution of the course. Approval is at the discretion of the CHD. A waiver from the CHD does not reduce the required total number of courses. Suitable Harvard courses include Physics 143a/b, AP195, and forthcoming courses offered under the Quantum Science & Engineering program.

Take at least one biology course, for example:

• MCB 291 (Genetics, Genomics and Evolutionary Biology)
• MCB 292 (Cellular Biology, Neurobiology and Developmental Biology)
• MCB293 (Biochemistry, Chemical and Structural Biology)
• OEB 242 (Population Genetics)
• Math 243 (Evolutionary Dynamics)
• BCMP 200 (Biochemistry, Chemical and Structural Biology)
• BCMP 234 (Cellular Metabolism and Human Disease)
• BCMP 250 (Biophysical and Biochemical Mechanisms of Protein Function)
• CB 201 (Principles of Cell Biology)
• Genetics 201 (Principles of Genetics)
• CB 207 (Vertebrate Developmental, Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology)

At least one course in “Math and Computational Techniques” is strongly recommend, for example:

• AM 201 (Physical Mathematics)
• AM 203 (Stochastic Processes)
• AM 205 (Numerical Methods)
• AM 207 (Stochastic methods for data analysis, inference, optimization)
• Physics 201 (Data Analysis)
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• CS 281 (Advanced Machine Learning)
• AM 216 (Inverse Problems)
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• AP 286 (Inference, Info Theory, Learning)

Students are encouraged students to consider AP242 (Introduction to Single-Molecule Biophysics), ES 297 (Professional Writing for Scientists and Engineers), as well as ES 220 (Fluid Mechanics), ES 240 (Solid Mechanics), and AP 225 (Soft condensed matter).

In addition, calculus, linear algebra, classical mechanics, and thermodynamics and statistical mechanics are fundamental to much biophysical research. If a student has specific gaps in their training in these areas that will impede their progress, the CHD, the advisor, or the qualifying exam committee may make specific binding recommendations to address such gaps by coursework.

Timeline : We recommend that students have completed a minimum of four courses at the end of their first year, and of six at the end of their second year. Students should aim to meet their full course requirements by the end of their fourth year.

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Mikhail Lukin (left) and Can Knaut with a quantum network node.

Photos by Niles Singer/Harvard Staff Photographer

Glimpse of next-generation internet

Physicists demo first metro-area quantum computer network in Boston

Anne J. Manning

Harvard Staff Writer

It’s one thing to dream up a next-generation quantum internet capable of sending highly complex, hacker-proof information around the world at ultra-fast speeds. It’s quite another to physically show it’s possible.

That’s exactly what Harvard physicists have done, using existing Boston-area telecommunication fiber, in a demonstration of the world’s longest fiber distance between two quantum memory nodes. Think of it as a simple, closed internet carrying a signal encoded not by classical bits like the existing internet, but by perfectly secure, individual particles of light.

The  groundbreaking work , published in Nature, was led by Mikhail Lukin, the Joshua and Beth Friedman University Professor in the Department of Physics, in collaboration with Harvard professors  Marko Lončar  and  Hongkun Park , who are all members of the  Harvard Quantum Initiative . The Nature   work was carried out with researchers at  Amazon Web Services .

The Harvard team established the practical makings of the first quantum internet by entangling two quantum memory nodes separated by optical fiber link deployed over a roughly 22-mile loop through Cambridge, Somerville, Watertown, and Boston. The two nodes were located a floor apart in Harvard’s Laboratory for Integrated Science and Engineering.

Map showing path of two-node quantum network through Boston and Cambridge.

Credit: Can Knaut via OpenStreetMap

Quantum memory, analogous to classical computer memory, is an important component of a quantum computing future because it allows for complex network operations and information storage and retrieval. While other quantum networks have been created in the past, the Harvard team’s is the longest fiber network between devices that can store, process, and move information.

Each node is a very small quantum computer, made out of a sliver of diamond that has a defect in its atomic structure called a silicon-vacancy center. Inside the diamond, carved structures smaller than a hundredth the width of a human hair enhance the interaction between the silicon-vacancy center and light.

“Showing that quantum network nodes can be entangled in the real-world environment of a very busy urban area is an important step toward practical networking between quantum computers.” Mikhail Lukin

The silicon-vacancy center contains two qubits, or bits of quantum information: one in the form of an electron spin used for communication, and the other in a longer-lived nuclear spin used as a memory qubit to store entanglement, the quantum-mechanical property that allows information to be perfectly correlated across any distance.

(In classical computing, information is stored and transmitted as a series of discrete binary signals, say on/off, that form a kind of decision tree. Quantum computing is more fluid, as information can exist in stages between on and off, and is stored and transferred as shifting patterns of particle movement across two entangled points.)

Using silicon-vacancy centers as quantum memory devices for single photons has been a multiyear research program at Harvard. The technology solves a major problem in the theorized quantum internet: signal loss that can’t be boosted in traditional ways.

A quantum network cannot use standard optical-fiber signal repeaters because simple copying of quantum information as discrete bits is impossible — making the information secure, but also very hard to transport over long distances.

Silicon-vacancy-center-based network nodes can catch, store, and entangle bits of quantum information while correcting for signal loss. After cooling the nodes to close to absolute zero, light is sent through the first node and, by nature of the silicon vacancy center’s atomic structure, becomes entangled with it, so able to carry the information.

“Since the light is already entangled with the first node, it can transfer this entanglement to the second node,” explained first author Can Knaut, a Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences student in Lukin’s lab. “We call this photon-mediated entanglement.”

Over the last several years, the researchers have leased optical fiber from a company in Boston to run their experiments, fitting their demonstration network on top of the existing fiber to indicate that creating a quantum internet with similar network lines would be possible.

“Showing that quantum network nodes can be entangled in the real-world environment of a very busy urban area is an important step toward practical networking between quantum computers,” Lukin said.

A two-node quantum network is only the beginning. The researchers are working diligently to extend the performance of their network by adding nodes and experimenting with more networking protocols.

The paper is titled “Entanglement of Nanophotonic Quantum Memory Nodes in a Telecom Network.” The work was supported by the AWS Center for Quantum Networking’s research alliance with the Harvard Quantum Initiative, the National Science Foundation, the Center for Ultracold Atoms (an NSF Physics Frontiers Center), the Center for Quantum Networks (an NSF Engineering Research Center), the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, and other sources.

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Physicists demonstrate first metro-area quantum computer network in Boston

by Harvard University

It's one thing to dream up a quantum internet that could send hacker-proof information around the world via photons superimposed in different quantum states. It's quite another to physically show it's possible.

That's exactly what Harvard physicists have done, using existing Boston-area telecommunication fiber, in a demonstration of the world's longest fiber distance between two quantum memory nodes to date. Think of it as a simple, closed internet between point A and B, carrying a signal encoded not by classical bits like the existing internet, but by perfectly secure, individual particles of light.

The groundbreaking work, titled "Entanglement of nanophotonic quantum memory nodes in a telecom network " and published in Nature , was led by Mikhail Lukin, the Joshua and Beth Friedman University Professor in the Department of Physics, in collaboration with Harvard professors Marko Lončar and Hongkun Park, who are all members of the Harvard Quantum Initiative, alongside researchers at Amazon Web Services .

The Harvard team established the practical makings of the first quantum internet by entangling two quantum memory nodes separated by optical fiber link deployed over a roughly 22-mile loop through Cambridge, Somerville, Watertown, and Boston. The two nodes were located a floor apart in Harvard's Laboratory for Integrated Science and Engineering.

Quantum memory, analogous to classical computer memory, is an important component of an interconnected quantum computing future because it allows for complex network operations and information storage and retrieval. While other quantum networks have been created in the past, the Harvard team's is the longest fiber network between devices that can store, process and move information.

Each node is a very small quantum computer, made out of a sliver of diamond that has a defect in its atomic structure called a silicon-vacancy center. Inside the diamond, carved structures smaller than a hundredth the width of a human hair enhance the interaction between the silicon-vacancy center and light.

The silicon-vacancy center contains two qubits, or bits of quantum information: one in the form of an electron spin used for communication, and the other in a longer-lived nuclear spin used as a memory qubit to store entanglement (the quantum-mechanical property that allows information to be perfectly correlated across any distance).

Both spins are fully controllable with microwave pulses. These diamond devices—just a few millimeters square—are housed inside dilution refrigeration units that reach temperatures of -459°F.

Using silicon-vacancy centers as quantum memory devices for single photons has been a multi-year research program at Harvard. The technology solves a major problem in the theorized quantum internet: signal loss that can't be boosted in traditional ways.

A quantum network cannot use standard optical-fiber signal repeaters because copying of arbitrary quantum information is impossible—making the information secure, but also very hard to transport over long distances.

Silicon vacancy center-based network nodes can catch, store and entangle bits of quantum information while correcting for signal loss. After cooling the nodes to close to absolute zero, light is sent through the first node and, by nature of the silicon vacancy center's atomic structure , becomes entangled with it.

"Since the light is already entangled with the first node, it can transfer this entanglement to the second node," explained first author Can Knaut, a Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences student in Lukin's lab. "We call this photon-mediated entanglement."

Over the last several years, the researchers have leased optical fiber from a company in Boston to run their experiments, fitting their demonstration network on top of the existing fiber to indicate that creating a quantum internet with similar network lines would be possible.

"Showing that quantum network nodes can be entangled in the real-world environment of a very busy urban area, is an important step towards practical networking between quantum computers," Lukin said.

A two-node quantum network is only the beginning. The researchers are working diligently to extend the performance of their network by adding nodes and experimenting with more networking protocols.

Journal information: Nature

Provided by Harvard University

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Quantum Coherence: Harvard Scientists Uncover Hidden Order in Chemical Chaos

By Harvard University May 19, 2024

Harvard scientists have demonstrated that quantum coherence can persist through chemical reactions in ultracold molecules, suggesting broader applications for quantum information science and potentially in more common environmental conditions.

If you zoom in on a chemical reaction to the quantum level, you’ll notice that particles behave like waves that can ripple and collide. Scientists have long sought to understand quantum coherence, the ability of particles to maintain phase relationships and exist in multiple states simultaneously; this is akin to all parts of a wave being synchronized. It has been an open question whether quantum coherence can persist through a chemical reaction where bonds dynamically break and form.

Now, for the first time, a team of Harvard scientists has demonstrated the survival of quantum coherence in a chemical reaction involving ultracold molecules. These findings highlight the potential of harnessing chemical reactions for future applications in quantum information science.

“I am extremely proud of our work investigating a very fundamental property of a chemical reaction where we really didn’t know what the result would be,” said senior co-author Kang-Kuen Ni, Theodore William Richards Professor of Chemistry and Professor of Physics. “It was really gratifying to do an experiment to find out what Mother Nature tells us.”

Quantum Dynamics Observed

In the paper, published in Science , the researchers detailed how they studied a specific atom -exchange chemical reaction in an ultra-cold environment involving 40K87Rb bialkali molecules, where two potassium-rubidium (KRb) molecules react to form potassium (K2) and rubidium (Rb2) products. The team prepared the initial nuclear spins in KRb molecules in an entangled state by manipulating magnetic fields and then examined the outcome with specialized tools. In the ultra-cold environment, the Ni Lab was able to track the nuclear spin degrees of freedom and to observe the intricate quantum dynamics underlying the reaction process and outcome.

The work was undertaken by several members of Ni’s Lab, including Yi-Xiang Liu, Lingbang Zhu, Jeshurun Luke, J.J. Arfor Houwman, Mark C. Babin, and Ming-Guang Hu.

Utilizing laser cooling and magnetic trapping, the team was able to cool their molecules to just a fraction of a degree above Absolute Zero. In this ultracold environment, of just 500 nanoKelvin, molecules slow down, enabling scientists to isolate, manipulate, and detect individual quantum states with remarkable precision. This control facilitates the observation of quantum effects such as superposition, entanglement, and coherence, which play fundamental roles in the behavior of molecules and chemical reactions.

By employing sophisticated techniques, including coincidence detection where the researchers can pick out the exact pairs of reaction products from individual reaction events, the researchers were able to map and describe the reaction products with precision. Previously, they observed the partitioning of energy between the rotational and translational motion of the product molecules to be chaotic [ Nature 593, 379-384 (2021) ]. Therefore, it is surprising to find quantum order in the form of coherence in the same underlying reaction dynamics, this time in the nuclear spin degree of freedom.

The results revealed that quantum coherence was preserved within the nuclear spin degree of freedom throughout the reaction. The survival of coherence implied that the product molecules, K2 and Rb2, were in an entangled state, inheriting the entanglement from the reactants. Furthermore, by deliberately inducing decoherence in the reactants, the researchers demonstrated control over the reaction product distribution.

Going forward, Ni hopes to rigorously prove that the product molecules were entangled, and she is optimistic that quantum coherence can persist in non-ultracold environments.

“We believe the result is general and not necessarily limited to low temperatures and could happen in more warm and wet conditions,” Ni said. “That means there is a mechanism for chemical reactions that we just didn’t know about before.”

First co-author and graduate student Lingbang Zhu sees the experiment as an opportunity to expand people’s understanding about chemical reactions in general.

“We are probing phenomena that are possibly occurring in nature,” Zhu said. “We can try to broaden our concept to other chemical reactions. Although the electronic structure of KRb might be different, the idea of interference in reactions could be generalized to other chemical systems as well.”

Reference: “Quantum interference in atom-exchange reactions” by Yi-Xiang Liu, Lingbang Zhu, Jeshurun Luke, J. J. Arfor Houwman, Mark C. Babin, Ming-Guang Hu and Kang-Kuen Ni, 16 May 2024, Science . DOI: 10.1126/science.adl6570

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A simple quantum internet with significant possibilities

Physicists demo first metro-area quantum computer network in boston.

It's one thing to dream up a quantum internet that could send hacker-proof information around the world via photons superimposed in different quantum states. It's quite another to physically show it's possible.

That's exactly what Harvard physicists have done, using existing Boston-area telecommunication fiber, in a demonstration of the world's longest fiber distance between two quantum memory nodes to date. Think of it as a simple, closed internet between point A and B, carrying a signal encoded not by classical bits like the existing internet, but by perfectly secure, individual particles of light.

The groundbreaking work, published in Nature , was led by Mikhail Lukin, the Joshua and Beth Friedman University Professor in the Department of Physics, in collaboration with Harvard professors Marko Lončar and Hongkun Park, who are all members of the Harvard Quantum Initiative, alongside researchers at Amazon Web Services.

The Harvard team established the practical makings of the first quantum internet by entangling two quantum memory nodes separated by optical fiber link deployed over a roughly 22-mile loop through Cambridge, Somerville, Watertown, and Boston. The two nodes were located a floor apart in Harvard's Laboratory for Integrated Science and Engineering.

Quantum memory, analogous to classical computer memory, is an important component of an interconnected quantum computing future because it allows for complex network operations and information storage and retrieval. While other quantum networks have been created in the past, the Harvard team's is the longest fiber network between devices that can store, process and move information.

Each node is a very small quantum computer, made out of a sliver of diamond that has a defect in its atomic structure called a silicon-vacancy center. Inside the diamond, carved structures smaller than a hundredth the width of a human hair enhance the interaction between the silicon-vacancy center and light.

The silicon-vacancy center contains two qubits, or bits of quantum information: one in the form of an electron spin used for communication, and the other in a longer-lived nuclear spin used as a memory qubit to store entanglement (the quantum-mechanical property that allows information to be perfectly correlated across any distance). Both spins are fully controllable with microwave pulses. These diamond devices -- just a few millimeters square -- are housed inside dilution refrigeration units that reach temperatures of -459 Fahrenheit.

Using silicon-vacancy centers as quantum memory devices for single photons has been a multi-year research program at Harvard. The technology solves a major problem in the theorized quantum internet: signal loss that can't be boosted in traditional ways. A quantum network cannot use standard optical-fiber signal repeaters because copying of arbitrary quantum information is impossible -- making the information secure, but also very hard to transport over long distances.

Silicon vacancy center-based network nodes can catch, store and entangle bits of quantum information while correcting for signal loss. After cooling the nodes to close to absolute zero, light is sent through the first node and, by nature of the silicon vacancy center's atomic structure, becomes entangled with it.

"Since the light is already entangled with the first node, it can transfer this entanglement to the second node," explained first author Can Knaut, a Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences student in Lukin's lab. "We call this photon-mediated entanglement."

Over the last several years, the researchers have leased optical fiber from a company in Boston to run their experiments, fitting their demonstration network on top of the existing fiber to indicate that creating a quantum internet with similar network lines would be possible.

"Showing that quantum network nodes can be entangled in the real-world environment of a very busy urban area, is an important step towards practical networking between quantum computers," Lukin said.

A two-node quantum network is only the beginning. The researchers are working diligently to extend the performance of their network by adding nodes and experimenting with more networking protocols.

• Quantum Computing
• Quantum Physics
• Spintronics
• Computers and Internet
• Quantum Computers
• Spintronics Research
• Quantum entanglement
• Quantum number
• Schrödinger's cat
• Quantum tunnelling
• Quantum computer
• Quantum dot
• Linus Pauling
• Bose-Einstein condensate

Story Source:

Materials provided by Harvard University . Original written by Anne J. Manning. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

Related Multimedia :

• Map showing path of two-node quantum network through Boston and Cambridge

Journal Reference :

• C. M. Knaut, A. Suleymanzade, Y.-C. Wei, D. R. Assumpcao, P.-J. Stas, Y. Q. Huan, B. Machielse, E. N. Knall, M. Sutula, G. Baranes, N. Sinclair, C. De-Eknamkul, D. S. Levonian, M. K. Bhaskar, H. Park, M. Lončar, M. D. Lukin. Entanglement of nanophotonic quantum memory nodes in a telecom network . Nature , 2024; 629 (8012): 573 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07252-z

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Facility for Rare Isotope Beams

At michigan state university, international research team uses wavefunction matching to solve quantum many-body problems, new approach makes calculations with realistic interactions possible.

FRIB researchers are part of an international research team solving challenging computational problems in quantum physics using a new method called wavefunction matching. The new approach has applications to fields such as nuclear physics, where it is enabling theoretical calculations of atomic nuclei that were previously not possible. The details are published in Nature (“Wavefunction matching for solving quantum many-body problems”) .

Ab initio methods and their computational challenges

An ab initio method describes a complex system by starting from a description of its elementary components and their interactions. For the case of nuclear physics, the elementary components are protons and neutrons. Some key questions that ab initio calculations can help address are the binding energies and properties of atomic nuclei not yet observed and linking nuclear structure to the underlying interactions among protons and neutrons.

Yet, some ab initio methods struggle to produce reliable calculations for systems with complex interactions. One such method is quantum Monte Carlo simulations. In quantum Monte Carlo simulations, quantities are computed using random or stochastic processes. While quantum Monte Carlo simulations can be efficient and powerful, they have a significant weakness: the sign problem. The sign problem develops when positive and negative weight contributions cancel each other out. This cancellation results in inaccurate final predictions. It is often the case that quantum Monte Carlo simulations can be performed for an approximate or simplified interaction, but the corresponding simulations for realistic interactions produce severe sign problems and are therefore not possible.

Using ‘plastic surgery’ to make calculations possible

The new wavefunction-matching approach is designed to solve such computational problems. The research team—from Gaziantep Islam Science and Technology University in Turkey; University of Bonn, Ruhr University Bochum, and Forschungszentrum Jülich in Germany; Institute for Basic Science in South Korea; South China Normal University, Sun Yat-Sen University, and Graduate School of China Academy of Engineering Physics in China; Tbilisi State University in Georgia; CEA Paris-Saclay and Université Paris-Saclay in France; and Mississippi State University and the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) at Michigan State University (MSU)—includes  Dean Lee , professor of physics at FRIB and in MSU’s Department of Physics and Astronomy and head of the Theoretical Nuclear Science department at FRIB, and  Yuan-Zhuo Ma , postdoctoral research associate at FRIB.

“We are often faced with the situation that we can perform calculations using a simple approximate interaction, but realistic high-fidelity interactions cause severe computational problems,” said Lee. “Wavefunction matching solves this problem by doing plastic surgery. It removes the short-distance part of the high-fidelity interaction, and replaces it with the short-distance part of an easily computable interaction.”

This transformation is done in a way that preserves all of the important properties of the original realistic interaction. Since the new wavefunctions look similar to that of the easily computable interaction, researchers can now perform calculations using the easily computable interaction and apply a standard procedure for handling small corrections called perturbation theory.  A team effort

The research team applied this new method to lattice quantum Monte Carlo simulations for light nuclei, medium-mass nuclei, neutron matter, and nuclear matter. Using precise ab initio calculations, the results closely matched real-world data on nuclear properties such as size, structure, and binding energies. Calculations that were once impossible due to the sign problem can now be performed using wavefunction matching.

“It is a fantastic project and an excellent opportunity to work with the brightest nuclear scientist s in FRIB and around the globe,” said Ma. “As a theorist , I'm also very excited about programming and conducting research on the world's most powerful exascale supercomputers, such as Frontier , which allows us to implement wavefunction matching to explore the mysteries of nuclear physics.”

While the research team focused solely on quantum Monte Carlo simulations, wavefunction matching should be useful for many different ab initio approaches, including both classical and  quantum computing calculations. The researchers at FRIB worked with collaborators at institutions in China, France, Germany, South Korea, Turkey, and United States.

“The work is the culmination of effort over many years to handle the computational problems associated with realistic high-fidelity nuclear interactions,” said Lee. “It is very satisfying to see that the computational problems are cleanly resolved with this new approach. We are grateful to all of the collaboration members who contributed to this project, in particular, the lead author, Serdar Elhatisari.”

This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. National Science Foundation, the German Research Foundation, the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Chinese Academy of Sciences President’s International Fellowship Initiative, Volkswagen Stiftung, the European Research Council, the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey, the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the National Security Academic Fund, the Rare Isotope Science Project of the Institute for Basic Science, the National Research Foundation of Korea, the Institute for Basic Science, and the Espace de Structure et de réactions Nucléaires Théorique.

Michigan State University operates the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) as a user facility for the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science (DOE-SC), supporting the mission of the DOE-SC Office of Nuclear Physics. Hosting what is designed to be the most powerful heavy-ion accelerator, FRIB enables scientists to make discoveries about the properties of rare isotopes in order to better understand the physics of nuclei, nuclear astrophysics, fundamental interactions, and applications for society, including in medicine, homeland security, and industry.

The U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States and is working to address some of today’s most pressing challenges. For more information, visit energy.gov/science.

Harvard Launches PhD in Quantum Science and Engineering

Program will prepare leaders of the ‘quantum revolution’

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CAMBRIDGE, MA (Monday, April 26, 2021) – Harvard University today announced one of the world’s first PhD programs in Quantum Science and Engineering , a new intellectual discipline at the nexus of physics, chemistry, computer science, and electrical engineering with the promise to profoundly transform the way we acquire, process and communicate information and interact with the world around us.

“This cross-disciplinary PhD program will prepare our students to become the leaders and innovators in the emerging field of quantum science and engineering,” said Emma Dench, dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and McLean Professor of Ancient and Modern History and of the Classics. “Harvard’s interdisciplinary strength and intellectual resources make it the perfect place for them to develop their ideas, grow as scholars, and make discoveries that will change the world.”

The University is already home to a robust quantum science and engineering research community, organized under the Harvard Quantum Initiative . With the launch of the PhD program, Harvard is making the next needed commitment to provide foundational education for the next generation of innovators and leaders who will push the boundaries of knowledge and transform quantum science and engineering into useful systems, devices, and applications. 

“The new PhD program is designed to equip students with the appropriate experimental and theoretical education that reflects the nuanced intellectual approaches brought by both the sciences and engineering,” said faculty co-director Evelyn Hu , Tarr-Coyne Professor of Applied Physics and of Electrical Engineering at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS). “The core curriculum dramatically reduces the time to basic quantum proficiency for a community of students who will be the future innovators, researchers, and educators in quantum science and engineering.”

“Quantum science and engineering is not just a hybrid of subjects from different disciplines, but an important new area of study in its own right,” said faculty co-director John Doyle , Henry B. Silsbee Professor of Physics. “A PhD program is necessary and foundational to the development of this new discipline.”

“America’s continued success leading the quantum revolution depends on accelerating the next generation of talent,” said Dr. Charles Tahan, assistant director for quantum information science at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and director of the National Quantum Coordination Office. “It’s nice to see that a key component of Harvard’s education strategy is optimizing how core quantum-relevant concepts are taught.”

The University is also finalizing plans for the comprehensive renovation of a campus building into a new state-of-the-art quantum hub—a shared resource for the quantum community with instructional and research labs, spaces for seminars and workshops, and places for students, faculty, and visiting researchers and collaborators to meet and convene. Harvard’s quantum headquarters will integrate the educational, research, and translational aspects of the diverse field of quantum science and engineering in an architecturally cohesive way. This critical element of Harvard’s quantum strategy was made possible by generous gifts from Stacey L. and David E. Goel ‘93 and several other alumni.

“Existing technologies are reaching the limit of their capacity and cannot drive the innovation we need for the future, specifically in areas like semiconductors and the life sciences,” said Goel, co-founder and managing general partner of Waltham, Massachusetts-based Matrix Capital Management Company, LP, and one of Harvard’s most ardent supporters. “Quantum is an enabler, providing a multiplier effect on a logarithmic scale. It is a catalyst that drives scientific revolutions and epoch-making paradigm shifts.”

“Harvard is making significant institutional investments in its quantum enterprise and in the creation of a new field,” said Science Division Dean Christopher Stubbs , Samuel C. Moncher Professor of Physics and of Astronomy. Stubbs added that several active searches are underway to broaden Harvard’s faculty strength in this domain, and current faculty are building innovative partnerships with industry around quantum research.

“An incredible foundation has been laid in quantum, and we are now at an inflection point to accelerate that activity,” said SEAS Dean Frank Doyle , John A. and Elizabeth S. Armstrong Professor of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

To enable opportunities to move from basic to applied research to translating ideas into products, Doyle described a vision for “integrated partnerships where we invite partners from the private sector to be embedded on the campus to learn from the researchers in our labs, and where our faculty connect to the private sector and national labs to learn about the cutting-edge applications and to help translate basic research into useful tools for society.”

Harvard will admit the first cohort of PhD candidates in fall 2022 and anticipates enrolling 35 to 40 students in the program. Participating faculty are drawn from physics and chemistry in Harvard’s Division of Science and in applied physics, electrical engineering, and computer science at SEAS.

The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences provides more information on Harvard’s PhD in Quantum Science and Engineering , including the program philosophy, curriculum, and requirements.

Harvard has a long history of leadership in quantum science and engineering. Theoretical physicist and 2005 Nobel laureate Roy Glauber is widely considered the founding father of quantum optics, and 1989 Nobel laureate Norman Ramsey pioneered much of the experimental foundation of quantum science.

Today, Harvard experimental research groups are among the leaders worldwide in areas such as quantum simulations, metrology, and quantum communications and computation, and are complemented by strong theoretical groups in computer science, physics, and chemistry.

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In the lab, PhD student Gino Domel studies the actuators that enable soft robots to move. Outside the lab, he works to build community among his fellow students, co-founding the MS/ME Graduate Organization, and serving as an athletics fellow at the Student Center at Harvard Griffin GSAS. 

Light Speed on the Information Superhighway

The amount of data in the world continues to expand rapidly. Graduating PhD student Dylan Renaud uses light to develop technologies that make data handling faster and more sustainable.

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Graduating student and Harvard Horizons Scholar Juhee Kang charts the path of psychological tests from scientific novelty to the bulwark of “scientific management” and meritocracy.

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End of year celebration concludes second year of Quantum Scholars

Quantum Scholars hosted an end of year celebration in late April, marking an end to the second year of this highly successful and innovative program. Over 50 students participated in Quantum Scholars this year, with just over half receiving fellowships. 

The event featured a distinguished speaker from the quantum industry, an award ceremony for the Quantum Scholars Hackathon, and remarks from program advisors and professors Mike Ritzwoller and Noah Finkelstein. Tobin Munsat, professor and chair of physics, concluded the evening with closing remarks congratulating the scholars on a successful year. 

The end of year celebration featured Dr. William Clark, Vice President for Quantum Development at Infleqtion, as a distinguished guest. An alumnus of CU Boulder, Dr. Clark completed his doctorate in physics in 1998, specializing in atomic, molecular and optical physics. Dr. Clark’s talk focused on the current state of the quantum industry. He also highlighted the capabilities and scope of Infleqtion, which has an increasingly global presence in the industry.  

“It warms my heart to see so many talented students engaged as Quantum Scholars,” said Clark. “They are a great example of what the state of Colorado, and the University of Colorado at Boulder are doing to advance the Quantum Industry.” 

A student-driven program 

Student engagement plays a large role in the program, with students helping to shape the program’s future. “We’re so proud of the Quantum Scholars program, with both the practical experiences and financial support that it has provided to the students,” Munsat said. “And of course, the student scholars themselves have been so impressive, really making the whole program work."

Over 25 students participated in the Quantum Hackathon this year. Educational materials about quantum computing and the final challenge problems were created by Professors Xun Gao and Oliver DeWolfe. The hackathon took place over four weeks with students grouped into teams of three or four and led by a graduate student advisor. The gold medal was awarded to the team led by physics graduate student Margie Bruff. Two teams were awarded silver medals and five teams received bronze medals.

“Congratulations to all the Quantum Hackathon medal winners,” said Gao. “I hope this hackathon helped students better understand quantum computing, its connection to practical problems, and inspired them to pursue it further.” 

Coordinated activities and continued growth 

Over the course of the year, Quantum Scholars participants engaged in activities designed to help them learn about the quantum field and industry. Students participated in the Physics and Quantum Career Fair, where they communicated with 26 different employers. They heard talks from leading scientists in the field representing companies that include IonQ and Infleqtion. They also toured labs at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and KMLabs. 

Graduate student Sasha Novack helps coordinate activities for the program. “It was an absolute pleasure working for the scholars this year,” said Novack. “We had a plethora of speakers, tours and social events (not to mention pizza) which the scholars enjoyed to the fullest.” 

Thanks to generous contributions from industry partners, alumni, and external partners, the Quantum Scholars program is expected to grow in the coming years to provide fellowships for up to 50 students per year.

“We are thrilled with the growth of this program and the achievements of these remarkable students,” said Finkelstein. “With the students' continued involvement and the community’s investment in Quantum Scholars, we know that the future of quantum sciences and engineering are in good hands.” 

Questions about getting involved in the Quantum Scholars Program as a student, industry partner, or supporter can be directed to Professor Mike Ritzwoller . 

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