Physics Colloquium    

Where is the Quantum Advantage of Time-Frequency-Entangled Photon Pairs for Nonlinear Spectroscopy? 

Michael Raymer 
Knight Professor of Liberal Arts and Sciences  
University of Oregon, Eugene Oregon   

Abstract     

Photonic entanglement is key for many quantum applications spanning computing, communications, metrology and sensing. A large body of recent research in physics, chemistry, and bioimaging explores the potential use of time-frequency-entangled photon pairs for applications that promise increased sensitivity at ultralow photon fluxes as well as increased simultaneous spectral and temporal resolving power. Many proposed applications rely on two-photon absorption using entangled photon pairs. But, despite the theoretical proposals, worldwide experimental efforts have yet to demonstrate convincing evidence of a ‘quantum advantage’ of such techniques for molecular samples. Our group has explored experimentally and theoretically the questions: Where does the quantum advantage of entangled photon pairs reside in nonlinear spectroscopy? Does the EPR (Einstein-Rosen-Podolsky) nature of time-frequency photonic entanglement provide simultaneous spectral and temporal resolving capability, or is there a semiclassical (stochastic electrodynamics) equivalent?   

Bio 

Michael G. Raymer’s research focuses on the quantum mechanics of light and its interaction with atoms and molecules, with applications in nonlinear optics, quantum communications technology, and quantum information. For example, in 1993 his group reported the first instance of experimental quantum-state tomography of light.  

He received his PhD from the University of Colorado in 1979. After a tenure on the faculty at the Institute of Optics, University of Rochester, he moved to the University of Oregon in 1988, where he later served as founding Director of the Oregon Center for Optics, now the Center for Optical Molecular and Quantum Science. He has held visiting appointments in Colorado, Germany, and Norway.  

He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society and of the Optical Society of America. He served on the Board of Directors of the Optical Society of America and as Divisional Associate Editor for Physical Review Letters. He has served on the Committee on AMO Science, National Research Council, and on the Executive Committee of the Division of Laser Science, APS. He was a recipient of the University’s 2015 Outstanding Career Award.  

He authored a popular-level book Quantum Physics: What Everyone Needs to Know, which explains quantum physics and its applications in information technology to nonscientists. Quantum mechanics is at the root of much of modern technology, including computers, and promises radically new technologies in the near future. To bring these topics to a wider audience, he developed a university course for nonscience students called Quantum Mechanics for Everyone, which covers, in an accessible way, the basics of the most successful theory of nature, which describes the counterintuitive behaviors of elementary objects such as electrons and photons.  

Raymer also led an effort, with the support of other academics and industry scientists, to lobby the US government for increased support of research in quantum information science and technology. This effort culminated in Dec. 2018, when Congress and the President passed the National Quantum Initiative Act, which authorized up to $1.275B to support this important activity.