The CUANTOS 8 courses / tutorials will be taught by:

• Liliana Arrachea (Centro Atómico Bariloche, Argentine) — Quantum Thermodynamics,

In this short course, we will focus on introducing the basic principles of thermodynamics that allow us to describe the concepts of heat and work in open quantum systems. We will place particular emphasis on discussing heat-work conversion mechanisms. These mechanisms are fundamental for enabling a quantum system to function as a heat engine in which cooling and the generation of useful work from temperature differences can be implemented. We will concentrate on linear response regimes, corresponding to small temperature differences, and slow time evolutions. We will discuss these mechanisms in electron systems and qubits. We will briefly mention the different theoretical approaches to solving these problems, as well as some related experimental results.

• Rodrigo Cortiñas  (Google Quantum AI, USA) - Quantum Error Correction

In this course I am going to cover quantum error correction (QEC). We are going to start from the mathematic, the fundamentals and the early ideas, and arrive until the current experimental implementation of the "surface code" with more than one hundred physical qubits. We are going to pass through alternatives and exploratory pathways like bosonic codes (Schrödinger-cat codes and GKP) and systems with topological protection like implementations using Majorana particles in materials, or simulations of these in quantum processors. I am going to make emphasis on the experiments that have been done to this day, with Rydberg atoms and with superconducting circuits, to discuss experimental data and the limitations of each platform, and delineate thus where the true current technological frontier is and mark the differences between the avenues pursued in industry and in academia. We will finish by coding a repetition code and a surface code on Google's cirq language that can be run directly on Willow hardware.

• Agustín Di Paolo (Google Quantum AI, USA) —  Numerical modeling of circuit QED systems.

As superconducting quantum processors scale in size, accurate numerical modeling becomes essential for predicting device performance and optimizing design parameters. This tutorial provides an overview of the theoretical and computational tools used to simulate circuit QED systems. We will discuss methods for quantizing superconducting circuits, analyzing Hamiltonian engineering strategies, and simulating open quantum system dynamics. We will place special emphasis on numerical techniques for handling large-scale systems, as well as modeling high-fidelity control and measurement operations to bridge the gap between theoretical models and experimental reality.

• Carmem Maia Gilardoni  (Centro Brasileiro de Pesquisas Físicas, Brazil) — Color centers for quantum technologies.

Practical quantum technologies require experimental platforms capable of storing and processing quantum information, and establishing entanglement links between different qubits. Color centers in solids present unique opportunities in this direction, as they provide an intuitive interface between photonic and spin degrees of freedom, and have enabled several initial demonstrations of quantum computing, communication, and sensing protocols. In this course, we will explore the fundamentals of the microscopic and electronic structure of a prototypical color center, the NV center in diamond, and how this structure enables the implementation of various demonstrations of quantum operations. We will also discuss seminal experiments demonstrating remote entanglement based on the NV system in diamond, quantum computing by NMR mediated by a central NV, and implementations of metrology techniques that use the quantum properties of the NV to gain sensitivity. Finally, I will briefly mention other color centers in crystalline materials, and how they mitigate some of the limitations of NV centers in diamond.

• Thiago Guerriero (Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, Brasil) — Mechanical Systems in the Quantum Regime

Mechanical systems in the quantum regimeLight carries both energy and momentum, a property that allows it to exert measurable forces on matter, ranging from single atoms to nano and micron-sized objects. By using these forces, we can trap and manipulate mesoscopic systems with extraordinary precision and isolation. These so-called levitated optomechanical systems provide a unique platform for exploring quantum phenomena in novel regimes. In this course, we will investigate the underlying physics of levitated optomechanical systems and discuss the frontier of fundamental physics tests made possible by this technology.

• Gonzalo Usaj (Centro Atómico Bariloche, Argentina) — An  introduction to Cavity Quantum Materials, 

In this short course, we will introduce the basic concepts of cavity quantum materials and survey current research directions. We will make a particular emphasis on the regimes of strong and ultrastrong coupling, where hybrid light–matter states emerge and can modify the electronic, vibrational, and magnetic properties of solids. These regimes are central to understanding how embedding a material inside an optical or microwave cavity can influence phases and collective phenomena. We will focus on minimal theoretical models of coupled photon–matter systems and briefly discuss the main theoretical approaches currently employed, together with selected recent experimental results and open challenges.

PRELIMINAR PROGRAM