Quantum Simulation Using Cold Atoms and a "Brighter" Future

Advances of quantum control in atomic and optical physics have made it possible to study intriguing phenomena originally discussed in condensed matter, nuclear, and gravitational physics. In quantum gas experiments, new insights are derived from out-of-equilibrium dynamics of novel quantum many-body phases. In the first part of my talk, I will present the observation of Sakharov oscillations in a quenched atomic superfluid. Sakharov acoustic oscillations, conventionally discussed in the context of early universe evolution and the temperature anisotropy of cosmic microwave background radiation, are a consequence of the interference of acoustic waves synchronously generated in an ideal fluid. I will describe how a quenched atomic superfluid provides unique opportunities to explore analogue physics in cosmology and gravity.

Moving toward a “brighter” future of an atomic quantum simulator, one exciting frontier is the integration of nanophotonics and atomic physics. I will present recent development of the first integrated optical circuit with new possibilities for studying novel quantum transport and many-body phenomena by way of photon-mediated atomic interactions.