Physics Colloquium: “Studying and Engineering Open Quantum Systems With Superconducting Circuits”

The Syracuse University Department of Physics is pleased to welcome Eli Levenson-Falk, Assistant Professor of Physics and Astronomy and of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Southern California, for his talk titled, “Studying and engineering open quantum systems with superconducting circuits.”

Eli Levenson-Falk is an Assistant Professor of Physics and Astronomy and of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Southern California. Before joining USC in 2017, he was a postdoc in the Kapitulnik group at Stanford working on Kerr effect measurements of heavy-fermion superconductors, thermal diffusivity measurements of strange metals and precision measurement of sub-mm gravity. He did his Ph.D. in Irfan Siddiqi’s Quantum Nanoelectronics Lab at Berkeley, focusing on developing novel Josepshon junctions for sensing and quantum information applications. His group at USC conducts experimental quantum information research using superconducting circuits. He is a 2018 Air Force young investigator, a 2021 Navy young investigator and a 2021 Cottrell Scholar.

Abstract: Superconducting circuits are a leading quantum information technology, combining flexible designs and strong coupling with compact size and long-lived coherence. However, uncontrolled interactions with the environment can lead to decoherence, causing errors in quantum operations. When properly engineered, these environmental interactions can be used to suppress decoherence, correct quantum errors and create interesting dynamics. Levenson-Falk will discuss his lab’s work using superconducting circuits to study and engineer open quantum systems. In particular, he will focus on our development of a dissipator, a device which provides on-demand, tunable dissipation on a target mode. He will show how the dissipator can suppress decoherence on a superconducting qubit and how we can use it for autonomous quantum error correction. And he will discuss ongoing work to study the foundational physics behind open quantum systems effects.