Lecture 1: Quantum (Dynamical) Control of Decoherence and Information Transfer

I will survey our recent and ongoing work that allows universal, effective control of the speed and fidelity of quantum information transfer and storage in the presence of heat or dephasing baths by modulating the levels of the source and target qubits. Such control may also enable the entanglement of distant qubits via the bath. It is also useful for extracting information on the bath from the qubit decay or decoherence. 

Lecture 2: Quantum Control of Thermodynamics

I will survey our recent and ongoing work on the ability to operate the simplest quantum heat machines by modulating the levels of a qubit that is simultaneously coupled to two heat baths. Alternatively, the qubit may be coupled to a quantized harmonic oscillator that acts as a piston. The efficiency of such machines strongly depends on the quantum state of the piston. Their cooling speed may defy the third law of thermodynamics.   

Lecture 3: Quantum Control of Dipole-Dipole Interactions

I will survey our recent work regarding the ability to dramatically enhance the range and strength of van der Waals, Casimir and resonant dipole- dipole interactions in one dimensional optical and microwave waveguides, via mode control. These modifications may completely change the nature of collective atomic processes and strongly affect energy transfer and quantum information processing.

About the Speaker: Born in Vilnius, Lithuania, in 1952, Gershon Kurizki immigrated to Israel with his family at the age of 6. He had obtained there his secondary and higher education (B.Sc and M.Sc in Physics at the Technion, 1979) before commencing his Ph.D research in Quantum Optics and Free- Electron Laser theory under the supervision of Marlan Scully at the University of New Mexico (Ph.D in Physics, 1983). After 2 years as Lecturer at the Tel Aviv University he obtained in 1985 a tenure track position at the Chemical Physics department of the Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, where he has been working ever since (Associate Professor with Tenure – 1991; Full Professor, the G.W.Dunne Chair in Quantum Optics, in 1997). He was elected as OSA Fellow in 1999 and APS Fellow in 2002. Gershon Kurizki received the Somekh Research Prize in 1994, the Lamb Award in Quantum Optics (with W.Schleich and M.Raizen) in 2008 and the Humboldt-Meitner Award in Atomic Physics in 2009. His research interests concern the control of light-matter interactions and open quantum systems, their quantum coherence and entanglement. His pioneering contributions include coherent photocurrent control in semiconductors (1989), modified radiative properties of atoms in photonic crystals (1994), the anti-Zeno effect (2000), universal dynamical control of decoherence (2001-2012), long-range dipole-dipole interactions in ultracold gases (2000-2002), giant photon-photon interactions and entanglement (2005- 2009) and quantum control of thermodynamic properties (2008-).

Lectures 1 and 2: April 24, 2014 (Thursday), 10:00 ~ 12:00 a.m.                      
Lecture 3: April 25, 2014 (Friday), 10:00 ~ 11:00 a.m.
Location: 606 Conference Room, No. 3 Heqing Road, Haidian District, 100084