Grant: Discovery Grants Program - Individual

Information processing based on the laws of quantum mechanics offers the promise of revolutionary advances in computing and communication. Quantum algorithms can perform certain tasks dramatically faster than today's fastest computers, and novel protocols such as teleportation and quantum cryptography can transform our current communication and information processing capabilities. Small-scale quantum information processing (QIP) has been demonstrated, but the challenge is to efficiently control multipartite coupled systems for large-scale QIP. These coupled systems can exhibit powerful non-classical correlations or 'entanglement' in the quantum regime, and nonlinear chaotic behaviour in the classical regime. In this research program, my goals are to characterize and analyze quantum interactions in multipartite systems, design and evaluate efficient quantum control techniques, and develop new quantum information processing protocols. This work builds on my ongoing successful research program in quantum information and quantum chaos and will focus on two areas. First, we will analyze the control of realistic quantum systems and explore how chaos affects information processing and the behaviour of valuable quantum resources such as entanglement. We intend to study noise and error correction in the presence of chaos, and the use of feedback control for QIP, which is still relatively unexplored. Second, we will perform detailed characterizations of multipartite quantum correlations and develop efficient, large-scale QIP protocols by exploiting these correlations. Our optimal communication schemes based on tripartite entanglement will be generalized to multiparty networks. The research will involve analytical and numerical techniques, and will analyze realistic physical systems in order to develop a framework of quantum control that can be usefully implemented. ) This exciting research will lead to new insight into long-debated questions about the quantum-classical connection as well as help to develop a powerful control toolbox for building robust quantum technologies. The program will train highly qualified personnel and enhance Canada's world-class reputation in QIP research.