Paola Cappellaro

Last updated
Paola Cappellaro
Alma mater Polytechnic University of Milan
École Centrale Paris
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Scientific career
Institutions Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Harvard University
Thesis Quantum information processing in multi-spin systems  (2006)
Doctoral advisor David G. Cory
Website Quantum Engineering Group

Paola Cappellaro is an Italian-American engineer who is a Professor of Nuclear Science and Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Her research considers electron-spin resonance, nuclear magnetic resonance and quantum information processing. She leads the MIT Quantum Engineering Group at the Center for Ultracold Atoms.

Contents

Early life and education

Cappellaro was born in Italy. She attended the Polytechnic University of Milan, where she majored in nuclear engineering. She was part of a joint Master's program with the École Centrale Paris, and graduated in 2000.[ citation needed ] Cappellaro moved to the United States for her graduate studies, where she worked alongside David G. Cory on quantum computation. In 2006, Cappellaro earned her doctorate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). [1] Her doctorate considered quantum state transfer in spin chains, making use of magnetic-based approaches to understand and explore spin transfer dynamics. [2] She completed her postdoctoral training at the Institute for Theoretical Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics, Harvard University. [3]

Research and career

In 2009, Cappellaro returned to Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she was made Assistant Professor. She serves as Head of the MIT Quantum Engineering Group at the Center for Ultracold Atoms. [4] Cappellaro has developed novel control techniques for electronic and nuclear spin qubits. [5] She realized the first nitrogen-vacancy center diamond-based magnetometers. [1] She pioneered the use of nuclear magnetic resonance to understand the propagation of spin excitations along a chain of interacting spins. [6]

In 2020, Cappellaro demonstrated that it is possible to make use of the nitrogen-vacancy (NV) qubits in diamond to perform quantum operations. [7] These NVs are defects which can be manipulated by electromagnetic waves, and respond by emitting light that can carry quantum information. [7] These NV centers are usually surrounded by other 'spin' defects, which have unknown spin properties. When an NV qubit interacts with a spin defect, it loses its coherent state, and can no longer perform quantum operations. [7] As NV qubits can be identified and controlled using microwave pulses, they can be used to probe their nearby environments. [7] Subsequent microwave pulses and applied magnetic fields can resonantly excite nearby spin defects, ultimately revealing their location. [7] Cappellaro showed that these defects can then be leveraged as additional qubits, which can be briefly entangled with one another to achieve a coherent quantum state. [7] These manifest as spikes in the resonance spectra. [7] Cappellaro measured the spins of these defects using electron-spin resonance. [7]

Cappellaro is the Ford Professor of Engineering, Professor of Nuclear Science and Engineering and Professor of Physics at MIT. [8]

Awards and honors

Selected publications

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Condensed matter physics</span> Branch of physics

Condensed matter physics is the field of physics that deals with the macroscopic and microscopic physical properties of matter, especially the solid and liquid phases which arise from electromagnetic forces between atoms. More generally, the subject deals with condensed phases of matter: systems of many constituents with strong interactions among them. More exotic condensed phases include the superconducting phase exhibited by certain materials at extremely low cryogenic temperature, the ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic phases of spins on crystal lattices of atoms, and the Bose–Einstein condensate found in ultracold atomic systems. Condensed matter physicists seek to understand the behavior of these phases by experiments to measure various material properties, and by applying the physical laws of quantum mechanics, electromagnetism, statistical mechanics, and other physics theories to develop mathematical models.

This is a timeline of quantum computing.

In physics, a Feshbach resonance can occur upon collision of two slow atoms, when they temporarily stick together forming an unstable compound with short lifetime. It is a feature of many-body systems in which a bound state is achieved if the coupling(s) between at least one internal degree of freedom and the reaction coordinates, which lead to dissociation, vanish. The opposite situation, when a bound state is not formed, is a shape resonance. It is named after Herman Feshbach, a physicist at MIT.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nuclear magnetic resonance quantum computer</span> Proposed spin-based quantum computer implementation

Nuclear magnetic resonance quantum computing (NMRQC) is one of the several proposed approaches for constructing a quantum computer, that uses the spin states of nuclei within molecules as qubits. The quantum states are probed through the nuclear magnetic resonances, allowing the system to be implemented as a variation of nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. NMR differs from other implementations of quantum computers in that it uses an ensemble of systems, in this case molecules, rather than a single pure state.

In condensed matter physics, an ultracold atom is an atom with a temperature near absolute zero. At such temperatures, an atom's quantum-mechanical properties become important.

Quantum cloning is a process that takes an arbitrary, unknown quantum state and makes an exact copy without altering the original state in any way. Quantum cloning is forbidden by the laws of quantum mechanics as shown by the no cloning theorem, which states that there is no operation for cloning any arbitrary state perfectly. In Dirac notation, the process of quantum cloning is described by:

The spin qubit quantum computer is a quantum computer based on controlling the spin of charge carriers in semiconductor devices. The first spin qubit quantum computer was first proposed by Daniel Loss and David P. DiVincenzo in 1997, also known as the Loss–DiVincenzo quantum computer. The proposal was to use the intrinsic spin-½ degree of freedom of individual electrons confined in quantum dots as qubits. This should not be confused with other proposals that use the nuclear spin as qubit, like the Kane quantum computer or the nuclear magnetic resonance quantum computer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nitrogen-vacancy center</span> Point defect in diamonds

The nitrogen-vacancy center is one of numerous point defects in diamond. Its most explored and useful property is its photoluminescence, which allows observers to read out its spin-state. The NV center's electron spin, localized at atomic scales, can be manipulated at room temperature by external factors such as magnetic, or electric fields, microwave radiation, or optical light, resulting in sharp resonances in the intensity of the photoluminescence. These resonances can be explained in terms of electron spin related phenomena such as quantum entanglement, spin–orbit interaction and Rabi oscillations, and analysed using advanced quantum optics theory. An individual NV center can be used as a basic unit for a quantum computer, a qubit, and used for quantum cryptography. Further potential applications in novel fields of electronics and sensing include spintronics, masers, and quantum sensors. If the charge is not specified the term "NV center" refers to the negatively charged NV center.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jörg Wrachtrup</span> German physicist

Jörg Wrachtrup is a German physicist. He is director of the 3rd Institute of Physics and the Centre for Applied Quantum Technology at Stuttgart University. He is an appointed Max Planck Fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research in Stuttgart. Wrachtrup is a pioneer in solid state quantum physics. Already in his PhD thesis, he carried out the first electron spin resonance experiments on single electron spins. The work was done in close collaboration with M. Orrit at the CNRS Bordeaux. To achieve the required sensitivity and selectivity, optical excitation of single molecules was combined with spin resonance techniques. This optically detected magnetic resonance is based on spin dependent optical selection rules. An important part of the early work was coherent control. As a result the first coherent experiments on single electron spins and nuclear spins in solids were accomplished.

Within quantum technology, a quantum sensor utilizes properties of quantum mechanics, such as quantum entanglement, quantum interference, and quantum state squeezing, which have optimized precision and beat current limits in sensor technology. The field of quantum sensing deals with the design and engineering of quantum sources and quantum measurements that are able to beat the performance of any classical strategy in a number of technological applications. This can be done with photonic systems or solid state systems.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nanodiamond</span> Extremely small diamonds used for their thermal, mechanical and optoelectronic properties

Nanodiamonds, or diamond nanoparticles, are diamonds with a size below 100 nanometers. They can be produced by impact events such as an explosion or meteoritic impacts. Because of their inexpensive, large-scale synthesis, potential for surface functionalization, and high biocompatibility, nanodiamonds are widely investigated as a potential material in biological and electronic applications and quantum engineering.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Centre for Quantum Computation</span>

The Centre for Quantum Computation (CQC) is an alliance of quantum information research groups at the University of Oxford. It was founded by Artur Ekert in 1998.

Spin engineering describes the control and manipulation of quantum spin systems to develop devices and materials. This includes the use of the spin degrees of freedom as a probe for spin based phenomena. Because of the basic importance of quantum spin for physical and chemical processes, spin engineering is relevant for a wide range of scientific and technological applications. Current examples range from Bose–Einstein condensation to spin-based data storage and reading in state-of-the-art hard disk drives, as well as from powerful analytical tools like nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy to the development of magnetic molecules as qubits and magnetic nanoparticles. In addition, spin engineering exploits the functionality of spin to design materials with novel properties as well as to provide a better understanding and advanced applications of conventional material systems. Many chemical reactions are devised to create bulk materials or single molecules with well defined spin properties, such as a single-molecule magnet. The aim of this article is to provide an outline of fields of research and development where the focus is on the properties and applications of quantum spin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quantum simulator</span> Simulators of quantum mechanical systems

Quantum simulators permit the study of a quantum system in a programmable fashion. In this instance, simulators are special purpose devices designed to provide insight about specific physics problems. Quantum simulators may be contrasted with generally programmable "digital" quantum computers, which would be capable of solving a wider class of quantum problems.

The DiVincenzo criteria are conditions necessary for constructing a quantum computer, conditions proposed in 2000 by the theoretical physicist David P. DiVincenzo, as being those necessary to construct such a computer—a computer first proposed by mathematician Yuri Manin, in 1980, and physicist Richard Feynman, in 1982—as a means to efficiently simulate quantum systems, such as in solving the quantum many-body problem.

In physics, optically detected magnetic resonance (ODMR) is a double resonance technique by which the electron spin state of a crystal defect may be optically pumped for spin initialisation and readout.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrea Morello</span> Italian professor of quantum computing (born 1972)

Andrea Morello is the Scientia Professor of quantum engineering in the School of Electrical Engineering and Telecommunications at the University of New South Wales, and a Program Manager at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Quantum Computation and Communication Technology (CQC2T). Morello is the head of the Fundamental Quantum Technologies Laboratory at UNSW.

Jeffrey Allen Reimer is an American chemist, academic, author and researcher. He is the C. Judson King Endowed Professor, a Warren and Katharine Schlinger Distinguished Professor and the chair of the chemical and biomolecular engineering department at University of California, Berkeley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Silicon carbide color centers</span> Crystal defect

Silicon carbide color centers are point defects in the crystal lattice of silicon carbide, which are known as color centers. These color centers have multiple uses, some of which are in photonics, semiconductors, and quantum applications like metrology and quantum communication. Defects in materials have a plethora of applications, but the reason defects, or color centers in silicon carbide are significant is due to many important properties of these color centers. Silicon carbide as a material has second-order nonlinearity, as well as optical transparency and low two-photon absorption. This makes silicon carbide viable to be an alternate platform for many things, including but not limited to nanofabrication, integrated quantum photonics, and quantum systems in large-scale wafers.

References

  1. 1 2 "Paola Cappellaro PhD '06 » MIT Physics". MIT Physics. Retrieved 2021-04-16.
  2. Cappellaro, Paola (2014), Nikolopoulos, Georgios M.; Jex, Igor (eds.), "Implementation of State Transfer Hamiltonians in Spin Chains with Magnetic Resonance Techniques", Quantum State Transfer and Network Engineering, Quantum Science and Technology, Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer, pp. 183–222, doi:10.1007/978-3-642-39937-4_6, hdl: 1721.1/95785 , ISBN   978-3-642-39937-4, S2CID   15275901 , retrieved 2021-04-16
  3. "Physics - Paola Cappellaro". physics.aps.org. Retrieved 2021-04-16.
  4. 1 2 "Paola Cappellaro | Office of Graduate Education" . Retrieved 2021-04-16.
  5. Research Thumbnails: Paola Cappallaro , retrieved 2021-04-16
  6. Miller, Johanna L. (2019-09-19). "An inexpensive crystal makes a fine quantum time machine". Physics Today. doi:10.1063/PT.6.1.20190919a. S2CID   209910923.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Novel method for easier scaling of quantum devices". MIT Physics. 2020-03-05. Retrieved 2021-04-16.
  8. "Paola Cappellaro PhD '06", MIT Physics. Retrieved May 16, 2021
  9. "MIT NSE: Faculty: Paola Cappellaro". web.mit.edu. Retrieved 2021-04-16.
  10. "Paola Cappellaro wins AFOSR Young Investigator Award". MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Retrieved 2021-04-16.
  11. Cappellaro, Paola (2015-06-17). "Polarizing Nuclear Spins in Silicon Carbide". Physics. 8: 56. Bibcode:2015PhyOJ...8...56C. doi: 10.1103/Physics.8.56 .