Ultracold@UAlberta

Welcome to the Ultracold Quantum Gases Laboratory at the University of Alberta!

Using the tools of atomic physics, we study the fundamentals of quantum many-body physics and how to apply these ideas to developing quantum technologies. We are part of the Department of Physics' Condensed Matter & AMO group.

Some quick links in this site:   People Papers      Videos


The University of Alberta respectfully acknowledges that it is located  in ᐊᒥᐢᑿᒌᐚᐢᑲᐦᐃᑲᐣ (Amiskwacîwâskahikan) on Treaty 6 territory, and respects the histories, languages, and cultures of First Nations, Métis, Inuit, and all First Peoples of Canada, whose presence continues to enrich our vibrant community.

At DAMOP 2023, Lindsay had the chance to present at the Graduate Student Symposium.  Here are here slides and some accompanying notes:

Recent Highlights

Using reinforcement learning to produce stable and high-number atom clouds

On our Quantum Simulation apparatus, we implemented a reinforcement learning agent to optimize our ultracold quantum gas production at the early stages of the cycle. We find that reinforcement learning performs better than supervised machine-learning approaches, and results in a consistent, large atom number.


Investigating Floquet engineered non-Abelian geometric phase for holonomic quantum computing

In our Quantum Simulations project, we experimentally demonstrate Floquet-driving to generate non-Abelian geometric phases, which opens up a new way of doing holonomic quantum computing and producing novel artificial gauge fields.

Microwave-to-optical conversion in a room-temperature vapour of Rb

In our microwave atom-optics project, a warm atom sample is used as a non-linear medium to facilitate three-wave mixing between optical and microwave signals, and the resulting coherent microwave-to-optical conversion maps a microwave signal to a large, tunable 550(30) MHz range of optical frequencies using room-temperature 87Rb atoms. With simultaneous conversion of a multi-channel input microwave field to corresponding optical channels, we demonstrate phase-correlated amplitude control of select channels, resulting in complete extinction of one of the channels, providing an analog to a frequency domain beam splitter across five orders of magnitude in frequency. 

Complete arbitrary control of ultracold qutrits

In our Quantum Simulations project, isolate and manipulate three levels in 87Rb's manifold of states to realize ultracold qutrits.  We demonstrate two approaches to arbitrary single-qutrit gates and show how a dual-tone microwave can be used to connect states and perform gate operations, even when the states are not directly coupled.


Harnessing superradiance for fast/broadband quantum memory

In our Quantum Memory project, we explored the regime of fast and broadband signal storage by moving to the superradiant regime of collective emission in the rubidium vapour, where the output signals emit on timescales faster than the atoms' natural lifetime.

For internal group information: LeBlanc group information