Department of Physics & Astronomy
University of New Mexico

CQuIC Seminars

Entanglement-Enhanced Quantum Sensing and Communication

Presented by Zheshen Zhang, Department of Materials Science and Engineering and College of Optical Sciences, The University of Arizona

Quantum information science (QIS) gives rise to unprecedented capabilities in sensing, computing, and communication. In this talk, I will first provide an overview of QIS and then describe our recent work on using entanglement, a unique but fragile quantum phenomenon, to improve the performance of sensing. I will describe our quantum-illumination-based target-detection experiment in a highly lossy and noisy environment. The experiment demonstrates an entanglement-enabled signal-to-noise ratio improvement over the optimum classical sensing scheme. Such a technology would find applications in high-resolution material characterization and biomedical imaging. The second part of the talk is dedicated to quantum communication, a technology offering unconditional security vouchsafed by the laws of physics. The demonstrated rates of quantum communication, however, fall far short of what classical communication affords. I will introduce our recent broadband quantum communication experiment that achieves a 1.3 Gbit/s rate over a channel with a 10-dB loss (equivalent to 50-km fiber transmission), a ~1000-fold improvement over state-of-the-art. Before closing, I will introduce the interdisciplinary quantum information research and engineering (INQUIRE) testbed currently under construction at the University of Arizona. The INQUIRE testbed will bridge QIS with diverse fields to facilitate future research and development of ultraprecise and non-invasive sensing and imaging, high-performance computing, and quantum communication networks.

Bio:Dr. Zheshen Zhang is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and the College of Optical Sciences at the University of Arizona. He received the B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from Shanghai Jiao Tong University in 2006 and the Ph.D. degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2011. Dr. Zhang joined MIT in 2012 as a Postdoctoral Associate and became a Research Scientist in 2015. Dr. Zhang joined the faculty of the University of Arizona in August 2017.

Dr. Zhang's research encompasses the experimental and theoretical aspects of quantum information science, with a focus on new applications ranging from ultraprecise sensing to telecommunications with provable security. In addition to his research activities, Dr. Zhang has taught undergraduate-level and graduate-level courses at the University of Arizona and at MIT. Dr. Zhang was recently elected by the students at the University of Arizona to receive Award for Excellence at the Student Interface.

3:30 pm, Thursday, October 25, 2018
PAIS-2540, PAIS

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A schedule of talks within the Department of Physics and Astronomy is available on the P&A web site at http://physics.unm.edu/pandaweb/events/index.php