Tutorial 1: Hybrid Quantum Systems

There have been intense efforts to harness mesoscopic quantum systems such as ultracold gases, superconducting qubits, nanomechanical systems and solid-state defect centers for a suite of applications including sensing, quantum information and communication. However, no single system has been shown to be optimal for the entire range of envisioned applications. Atomic gases are extremely coherent, but they are highly isolated and fragile. Nano-resonators are highly sensitive to small forces and well suited to sensing applications, yet they suffer from dissipation and loss. While photons are robust carriers of information, they typically exhibit very weak nonlinearities. These considerations motivate the ‘hybridization’ of distinct physical systems with complementary functionalities to access new phenomena and applications. In addition, these hybrid systems can also exhibit new forms of quantum behavior to probe macroscopic quantum phenomena and the quantum-to-classical boundary. The lectures will provide a basic introduction to hybrid quantum systems, their realizations, applications to new regimes of quantum metrology and information processing, with a discussion of open questions and challenges.