Date/Time
Date(s) - 31/10/2012
3:20 pm - 4:20 pm

Title: Quantum Signatures of Chaos

Speaker: Dr. Shohini Ghose

Institute: Wilfrid Laurier University

Location: ABB 102

Description:

The study of nonlinear dynamics in complex systems has led to great progress in the modeling and control of various systems such as lasers, biological systems, robotics and financial systems. These large-scale systems commonly exhibit chaotic behaviour, characterized by extreme sensitivity of the dynamics to small perturbations in initial conditions. At the quantum level, the concept of nonlinear dynamics and chaos is more ambiguous due to the apparent linearity of quantum mechanical evolution and due to the uncertainty principle, which does not allow localized trajectories in phase space. Furthermore, relatively few experiments have explored quantum chaos due to the high degree of control and precision required. Cold trapped atoms or ions interacting with lasers and magnetic fields provide an ideal setting in which to study the characterization and control of chaotic dynamics in a deeply quantum regime. A variety of interesting phenomena can be observed such as dynamical tunneling, chaotic spreading of the wave function, signatures of chaos in entanglement dynamics and hypersensitivity to perturbations. New signatures of chaos related to quantum state tomography can be identified. These studies provide a stepping-stone towards the development of a toolbox of arbitrary quantum control necessary for future applications in quantum information processing.