Over the last few decades, experimental physicists have observed quantum effects in the vibrations of mechanical resonators in a surprising range of experiments and sizes of objects. Achieving the quantum regime with the tangible motion of solid objects has piqued physicists' curiosity and enabled new approaches to difficult tasks in manipulating quantum information.

In this lecture, Cindy Regal will present experiments that measure the motion of drumlike mirrors and discuss how the experiments evolved from a rich history of read-out and control in quantum optics and precision measurement. She will highlight her team’s current efforts to use mechanical motion as a link between quantum states in disparate parts of the electromagnetic spectrum.

Regal is the Baur-SPIE associate professor of physics at the University of Colorado and a fellow of JILA, a joint institute between CU Boulder and the National Institutes of Standards and Technology. Her work in experimental quantum science has developed new platforms for the optical manipulation of both atoms and the vibrations of solids. She is a fellow of the American Physical Society and has received scientific awards, including a Presidential Early Career Award and a Packard Fellowship.

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SCHEDULE

Doors open: 5:30 p.m. (No entrance before 5:30 p.m.)

Lecture: 6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. (Admittance closes at 6:20 p.m.)

The Gerald D. Fischbach Auditorium complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act and offers accessible seating to visitors with special access needs.

The theme of the 2023 Simons Foundation Presidential Lecture series in physics is The Third Quantum Revolution. The first quantum revolution began with the discovery of quantum mechanics, which ultimately led to the invention of the transistor, the laser and the atomic clock. The second revolution enabled the control of small systems of particles and experimental demonstration of entanglement and non-locality — work that was recently recognized with the 2022 Nobel Prize in Physics. We are now on the verge of a third quantum revolution, enabling the control of large quantum systems to forge previously unrealized quantum technologies. These talks will explore the many dimensions of this third revolution, from basic physics to quantum computing, communication and sensing.

MAKING QUANTUM STATES OF LIGHT WITH MOVING MIRRORS