Research Assiciate - Lithium Quantum Microscope for Fermionic Quantum Simulations

Apr 5, 2025

Quantum systems

Applications are invited for a Postdoctoral Research Associate to join the new Fermionic Quantum Simulation team in an exciting research project at the intersection of neutral-atom quantum simulations and quantum computing. Funded by the European Union under ERC Grant FOrbQ, we will use a quantum-gas microscope to manipulate the dynamics of ultracold fermions in optical lattices at the single-atom level, utilising high-fidelity programmable quantum gates. We aim to generate and study strongly correlated fermionic quantum systems in optical superlattices via local control of motion and entanglement of atoms.

The successful applicant will work closely with Principal Investigator Timon Hilker in the EQOP group to plan and construct the new quantum machine and run experiments. Experience with strongly correlated many-body systems and/or quantum computing is desirable. Further requirements are relevant technical skills in laser frequency stabilisation and control, control of complex experimental setups, image analysis, and data acquisition. An ability to prepare scientific publications and present research outcomes at local, national and international research meetings is expected.

During the construction of a new experiment, the researcher can apply and extend his experience with ultracold atoms, laser cooling, high-power optical lattices, Raman side-band cooling, Feshbach resonances, and single-atom resolved imaging. The successful applicant is, furthermore, expected to contribute to the development of digital quantum gates on the orbital degree of freedom of atoms. Building on the recently achieved entanglement gates in optical lattices with 99.8% fidelity, the experiment will enable novel quantum-simulation experiments of the Hubbard model, the first quantum chemistry simulations with neutral atoms, and will lead the way to the first Fermionic Quantum Computer. This decade-old concept of a quantum computer that can simulate electrons without a cumbersome mapping of the fermions to qubits outperforms even much larger (quantum) computers in the simulation of electronic problems.

If this sounds fascinating to you and you would like to hear more, please get in touch with Timon Hilker(timon.hilker@strath.ac.uk).

Useful links: Flyer for open positions, Application page