Controlling Light with Giant Atoms

Quantum information is a flourishing field that allows for the processing of information in new and efficient ways. In this work, we study the ability to control the routing of a single photon using giant atoms and waveguides. Giant atoms are systems that behave like atoms but take up more space, allowing a single atom to interact with waveguides, or optical fibers, simultaneously in multiple places. Many configurations are examined, all of which outperform the routing capabilities of a single giant atom. This study is essential to the building of scalable quantum computers, ultimately revolutionizing many fields.

Thank you to our teammate Arushi Deb and our mentor Imran Mirza. This work is supported by the Dean’s Scholars Award.

There are no applicable research compliance protocols for this research.

Through this research experience, we had to practice and improve our skills in the following NACE competencies:

• Critical Thinking

  • We had to use critical thinking to propose our model, translate it into mathematics, do the mathematics, and check the work along the way for reasonableness.

• Teamwork

  • This was a team project between three students and our faculty advisor. We had to be able to divide tasks efficiently, while also keeping the rest of the group up to date on any breakthroughs and the general intellectual state of the whole project.

• Technology

  • This project required the use of Mathematica, a simulation software built on the Wolfram Language. We had to run various simulations and create graphs to be able to communicate our findings.