Advanced Optical Sciences (2023)

The course is organized in four parts.

Part I
The first part of the course introduces single optical and atomic quantum systems. In particular atom-like defects in solid-state materials and their coupling to quantized electromagnetic fields will be introduced. This includes (i) Single Photons & Single Emitters, (ii) Cavity QED in the Weak Coupling Regime, (iii) Diamond Defect Centers as Optical Quantum Probes, (iv) Diamond Defect Centers as Magnetic Quantum Probe, and (v) Quantum Information Processing in Diamond. Focus will be on recent developments and state-of-the-art experiments

Part II
The second part is dedicated to the topic of closing loopholes in Bell-experiments, which is crucially relevant for the interpretation of quantum mechanics. It includes an introduction to the concepts of the EPR-paradox, local-realism and Bell-Inequalities, and gives a brief overview over the key experiments and experimental methods to violate a Bell-Inequality while closing all possible loopholes.

Part III
Ultra-cold atom research led to several Nobel prizes in physics, amongst others, honoring the creation of the Bose-Einstein condensate – A phenomenon described by coherently oscillating atoms which expand with temperatures that correspond to billionths of a degree above absolute zero only. In this part of the lecture, we will study the basics of cold atom technology and discuss why this is an important step forward in our ability to study and control the fundamental building blocks of nature, as well as for driving innovations in metrology, timing and field sensing applications.

Part IV
The fourth part of the course introduces two-dimensional materials as an emerging new platform to study light-matter interaction and corresponding quantum effects. This includes (i) 2D materials as Tunable Single Photon Sources, (ii) Excitonic Bose Einstein condensation, and (iii) 2D Materials as programmable quantum emitters. Focus will be on recent developments.