We are currently looking for a PhD candidate to work on an ongoing Australian Research Council Discover Project to extend an investigation into the time that it takes for an electron to tunnel-ionise from molecules, referenced to the tunnelling time from atomic hydrogen

The proposed research is based around a state-of-the-art laser system, the Australian Attosecond Science Facility (AASF).This laser system is unique in Australia and one of only a few around the world. The light pulses generated by this laser are highly amplified and are only a few cycles of the optical field, and so measured in attoseconds (10^-18 sec). We study of the interaction of such strong-field engineered light pulses with matter. The research will build on a ground-breaking research into the time it takes for tunnel ionisation to occur in atomic hydrogen, which was recently published by the Griffith team in Nature [Sainadh et al. Nature, 568, 75 (2019). This project will extend the measurement of the tunnel ionisation of electrons from other atoms and molecules and will provide the most stringent tests to current models for these interactions.

For more information about this project, please contact the project supervisors:

Professor Igor Litvinyuk

Professor Robert Sang

Subject areas: quantum physics; atom, molecular, and optical physics.

We are currently looking for two experimental PhD candidates for a project aligned with Australian Research Council-funded grants, especially the Centre of Excellence for Quantum Computation and Communication Technology. These projects concern:

1. Developing new science and technology for multiphoton quantum optics experiments, including cluster-state applications and efficient Boson-Sampling;
2. Advancing the ultra-high-efficiency techniques for sharing quantum nonlocality, with applications to novel fundamental science advances and quantum communication repeaters.

Photons are a low-noise and flexible quantum system, perfect for quantum information processing. However, to date, it has not been possible to create high-fidelity states of many correlated photons. This project will use high-efficiency single photon sources developed at Griffith University, and world-leading superconducting photon detectors to generate quantum states of very many photons (up to tens of photons in a correlated state across many temporal modes), as well as very-highly-efficient distribution of smaller (but nevertheless complex) entangled states. When generated and detected with sufficient fidelity and efficiency, these states will enable demonstration of computational advantage of quantum computers over conventional classical computers, studies of fundamental aspects and applications of quantum nonlocality, and the building blocks of advanced quantum repeaters for long-range secure communication.

For more information about this project, please contact the project supervisors:

Professor Geoff Pryde

Dr Sergei Slussarenko

Subject areas: quantum physics; quantum computing; quantum optics

We are currently looking for a PhD candidate to work on a project funded by an Australian Research Council Future Fellowship held by Dr Eric Cavalcanti, titled ‘Fine-tuning the Quantum: Foundations and Applications of Quantum Causality’.

Quantum technologies are poised to become major drivers of scientific and economic growth in the 21st century. On the other hand, quantum advantage over classical computers has only been demonstrated for a few classes of algorithms. This interdisciplinary Project will tackle the key question for unlocking the benefits of quantum information processing: what gives quantum mechanics its information-processing power beyond classical physics? It will explore the hypothesis that quantum advantage is associated to fundamentally different ways in which causality operates in the quantum and classical regimes. The PhD candidate can assist in the project via conceptual, analytical or computational work, or a combination of those, depending on interests and abilities.

For more information about this project, please contact the project supervisors:

Assoc. Professor Eric Cavalcanti

Professor Howard Wiseman

Subject areas: foundational questions in: quantum physics; mathematical physics; computer science.

We are currently looking for a PhD candidate to assist on a component of an ongoing Australian Research Council and Lockheed Martin Corporation funded project, “A Memory Powered Engine”. This research component focuses on theoretical and numerical analysis of the thermodynamics of nonextensive strongly-interacting systems.

Most complex natural and engineered many-body systems of practical interest exhibit strong (long-range) interactions and nontrivial correlations between their components. So, it might be surprising that the conventional thermodynamics described in textbooks only applies to weakly-interacting systems such as highly idealised gases. Recently, our group introduced a theoretical framework, based on foundational concepts including Liouville’s theorem and the MaxEnt principle, that allows one to derive thermodynamical quantities and the probability distribution for strongly interacting systems. The aim of this project is to use and extend this theoretical platform to specifically: 1) capture the nonextensive thermostatistics of long-range-interacting quantum systems and 2) find the equilibrium conditions as a function of the system size for a macroscopic system. Our group includes an active world-leading experimental team that is implementing quantum heat engines in state-of-the-art ion traps. The project has scope for testing its theoretical results using experimental ion trap dynamics as well as informing experimental design.

For more information about this project, please contact the project supervisors:

Professor Joan Vaccaro

Dr Nariman Saadatmand

Subject areas: foundational questions in: quantum physics; mathematical physics; statistical physics.

We are currently looking for a PhD candidate to work on in the integrated quantum photonics program of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Quantum Computation and Communication Technology, led by A/Prof. Mirko Lobino (m.lobino@griffith.edu.au).

We have the ambitious goal of building an all optical quantum computer using integrated photonics. For this task we have developed a unique fabrication facility at Griffith University where we design and fabricate nonlinear waveguides for the generation of squeezed vacuum and fast and reconfigurable photonic circuits for the implementation of one-way quantum computing. If you want to work at the forefront of integrated quantum photonics and develop new skills in nanofabrication and quantum optics join us.

For more information about this project, please contact the project supervisors:

Associate Professor Mirko Lobino

Dr Ben Haylock

Subject areas: quantum physics; quantum computing; quantum optics.

We are currently looking for a PhD candidate to work on an ongoing Australian Research Council Discover Project, “Ultimate quantum limits to coherence”. This research component focuses on numerical simulations of novel laser models using state-of-the-art tensor network methods.

Lasers are extremely widely used in all aspects of modern science and technology. The physics of a typical laser process has been well-understood for decades. However, the advance of technology may now make it possible to engineer lasers beyond the imagination of traditional physicists. Our group recently developed a numerical scheme, based on the tensor network method of matrix product states, capable of describing the simplest thinkable nonlinear-coupling laser process that leads to the ultimate number of coherent photons in the beam. The aim of the advertised PhD project is twofold: (1) to extend our tensor network approach to predict the physics of more complex nonlinear-coupling laser processes that can be engineered in the lab and (2) to perform cutting-edge computer simulations for such laser models in order to discover the statistical and dynamical behaviours of photons in the laser cavity and beam.

For more information about this project, please contact the project supervisors:

Professor Howard Wiseman

Dr Nariman Saadatmand

Subject areas: quantum physics; mathematical physics; quantum optics.