ABSTRACT: The many internal states of atoms and molecules provide a range of opportunities and potential new capabilities for quantum simulation and quantum computation. I'll describe some recent efforts on using the large internal state space of dipolar Rydberg atoms for quantum simulations of dynamics in "synthetic dimensions" (i.e., transport in the internal state space), including the realization of artificial gauge fields, kinetically frustrated lattice bands, and few-body topological pumps. I'll conclude with a discussion of the near-term prospects for exploring exotic states of topological matter and will motivated related approaches based on Floquet engineering in Rydberg atom arrays.

Bio: Bryce Gadway is a Professor of Physics at Penn State University. He received his PhD from Stony Brook University working on cold atomic gases and was an NRC postdoctoral fellow at JILA / CU Boulder working on cold molecules. His research utilizes atoms, lasers, and other tools to build experiments that explore the dynamics and collective behavior of many-body systems, both quantum and classical.

This seminar is sponsored by the Department of Applied Physics and the Ginzton Laboratory