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Lecture

Harmonic Oscillators: Definitions and Dynamics

In course

PHYS-454: Quantum optics and quantum information

This lecture describes advanced concepts and applications of quantum optics. It emphasizes the connection with ongoing research, and with the fast growing field of quantum technologies. The topics cover some aspects of quantum information processing, quant ...

Description

This lecture covers the definitions and dynamics of harmonic oscillators, including ladder operators, eigenstates, spectrum, free oscillators, driven oscillators, and coherent states. It also compares harmonic oscillators with two-level systems.

Instructor

Jean-Philippe Brantut

I did my PhD at the Institut d'Optique under the direction of Philippe Bouyer and Alain Aspect, before moving to ETHZ in the group of Tilman Esslinger, first as a post-doc then as a senior scientist. There I developed in particular the method allowing for a quantum simulation of nano-electronic devices with ultracold quantum gases.Since september 2016, I hold the Fondation Sandoz chair in physics of quantum gases at EPFL. There, my group has developed the first cold atoms machine combining Fermi gases with cavity-quantum electrodynamics. We use it to explore new ways of measuring and manipulating quantum matter.

Official source

Ontological neighbourhood

Physics

Quantum mechanics: Mathematical formulation of quantum mechanics

Related concepts (32)

Harmonic oscillator

In classical mechanics, a harmonic oscillator is a system that, when displaced from its equilibrium position, experiences a restoring force F proportional to the displacement x: where k is a positive constant. If F is the only force acting on the system, the system is called a simple harmonic oscillator, and it undergoes simple harmonic motion: sinusoidal oscillations about the equilibrium point, with a constant amplitude and a constant frequency (which does not depend on the amplitude).

Oscillation

Oscillation is the repetitive or periodic variation, typically in time, of some measure about a central value (often a point of equilibrium) or between two or more different states. Familiar examples of oscillation include a swinging pendulum and alternating current. Oscillations can be used in physics to approximate complex interactions, such as those between atoms.

Relaxation oscillator

In electronics a relaxation oscillator is a nonlinear electronic oscillator circuit that produces a nonsinusoidal repetitive output signal, such as a triangle wave or square wave. The circuit consists of a feedback loop containing a switching device such as a transistor, comparator, relay, op amp, or a negative resistance device like a tunnel diode, that repetitively charges a capacitor or inductor through a resistance until it reaches a threshold level, then discharges it again.

Squeezed coherent state

In physics, a squeezed coherent state is a quantum state that is usually described by two non-commuting observables having continuous spectra of eigenvalues. Examples are position and momentum of a particle, and the (dimension-less) electric field in the amplitude (phase 0) and in the mode (phase 90°) of a light wave (the wave's quadratures). The product of the standard deviations of two such operators obeys the uncertainty principle: and , respectively.

Quantum state

In quantum physics, a quantum state is a mathematical entity that embodies the knowledge of a quantum system. Quantum mechanics specifies the construction, evolution, and measurement of a quantum state. The result is a quantum mechanical prediction for the system represented by the state. Knowledge of the quantum state together with the quantum mechanical rules for the system's evolution in time exhausts all that can be known about a quantum system. Quantum states may be defined in different ways for different kinds of systems or problems.

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