Quantum Thermodynamics in Atomic quantum Simulators

Condensed matter physics is entering an era of unprecedented control over the design and synthesis of quantum materials. Engineered materials such, twistronics devices and atomically thin 2D materials have emergent properties that may enable breakthrough applications from tackling climate change to the quantum technology revolution. However, emerging properties are difficult to predict, making it challenging to exploit this structural control to achieve new functionalities.

One possible approach to designing new quantum materials is to harness the rapidly increasing potential of quantum simulators—precursors to general purpose quantum computers that allow the accurate simulation of a single model. Atomic quantum simulators in the bulk, in optical lattices and in optical tweezers arrays offer precise control of the underlying Hamiltonian, rarely possible in traditional condensed matter systems.

Therefore, they are ideal test beds for theory and provide platforms for understanding and engineering emergent physics. Exotic phases of matter like supersolids [1] and anyonic matter [2] have been demonstrated in these devices. However, in quantum simulators, it is much easier to measure correlation functions than thermodynamic properties, which are instead the standard probe in condensed matter physics. We will investigate quantum thermodynamics properties [3] of atomic simulators both in the bulk and in optical lattices with the dual goal of deriving quantum bounds for physically measurable quantities [4] and of optimizing the synthetic material they describe.

[1] “Probing supersolidity through excitations in a spin-orbit-coupled Bose-Einstein condensate”, arXiv:2412.13861.
[2] “Realizing a 1D topological gauge theory in an optically dressed BEC”, Nature 608 (7922), 293-297 (2022).
[3] “Thermodynamics in the quantum regime.”, Fundamental Theories of Physics 195.1 (2018).
[4] “Quantum thermodynamics of boundary time-crystals”, Quantum Sci. Technol. 9 035024 (2024).

Master in one of these areas:

• Nanoscience and Nanotechnology.
• High Energy Physics, Astrophysics and Cosmology.
• Photonics.
• Quantum Science and Technology.

A. Celi is a member of the SGR 2021 00138 (Òptica).
He works on simulators at the interface between condensed-matter and high-energy physics. He currently supervises 3 PhD students and one postdoc, and tutorizes an Industrial PhD on quantum sensing with ultracold atoms (IDEAD). The Optics group currently involves other two senior members and 3 lectors, active in polarimetry (experimental), quantum communication (experimental), and quantum computation and atomtronics (theory).

G. De Chiara recently joined the Quantum Information Group (GIQ) of the department of physics. Before that, he has been a group leader at the Quantum Technology Group at Queen’s University Belfast. His expertise ranges from quantum information to quantum thermodynamics. He is currently supervising two PhD students. GIQ includes 6 members of staff, 5 postdocs and several PhD students working in different areas of quantum science.