Grant: Discovery Grants Program - Individual

Breakthrough technological and scientific advances are driven by our ability to control nature. Harnessing subtle quantum mechanical features of light and matter will lead to powerful new technologies with broad impact in how we process and share information. Optical systems feature prominently in these emerging quantum technologies as they are unparalleled in their ability to exchange quantum information over large distances. This Discovery Grant application requests funding for a research program in optical quantum information science focusing on three interrelated challenges: next-generation quantum light sources, ultrafast quantum optics, and quantum foundational experiments. Quantum light is the foundation for quantum optical technologies. As just one example, ultra-secure quantum cryptography can be achieved by exchanging single-photon polarization states. We propose to develop quantum light sources, based on artificial atoms that will become the new standard for single-, and entangled-photons. We propose to exploit fast laser pulses and nonlinear optical interactions to manipulate the temporal properties of single photons in the ultrafast limit. We will develop new quantum pulse characterization tools and interferometry in this regime, leading to full control over the single-photon waveform on the fastest of timescales. We will develop new methods for determining quantum states, quantum measurements, and the underlying quantum causal structure in experiments. We propose to measure trajectories of interfering photons using weak measurements and infer the Quantum Potential giving rise to bright and dark regions of interference pattern. The research streams described in this proposal complement each other. Advancing the frontiers of quantum emitters and ultrafast quantum optics enable more demanding technologies and foundational experiments, while advances in quantum foundations establish stringent benchmarks, challenging us to expand the limits of sources and control. The experimental advances and theoretical understanding developed through this research program will have lasting impact through our ability to harness quantum states of light and discover the resources for tomorrow's quantum applications. These experiments will be carried out by undergraduate, graduate, and post-doctoral researchers. This proposal requests funding for their salaries, travel, experiments, and publications costs. Canada will directly benefit from the training of these researchers and new technologies they developed during the course of this training.