Quantum technologies with hybrid systems.
An extensively pursued current direction of research in physics aims at the development of practical technologies that exploit the effects of quantum mechanics. As part of this ongoing effort, devices for quantum information processing, secure communication, and high-precision sensing are being implemented with diverse systems, ranging from photons, atoms, and spins to mesoscopic superconducting and nanomechanical structures. Their physical properties make some of these systems better suited than others for specific tasks; thus, photons are well suited for transmitting quantum information, weakly interacting spins can serve as long-lived quantum memories, and superconducting elements can rapidly process information encoded in their quantum states. A central goal of the envisaged quantum technologies is to develop devices that can simultaneously perform several of these tasks, namely, reliably store, process, and transmit quantum information. Hybrid quantum systems composed of different physical components with complementary functionalities may provide precisely such multitasking capabilities. This article reviews some of the driving theoretical ideas and first experimental realizations of hybrid quantum systems and the opportunities and challenges they present and offers a glance at the near- and long-term perspectives of this fascinating and rapidly expanding field.
Department of Chemical Physics, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel; gershon.kurizki@weizmann.ac.il.
Gershon
G
Kurizki
Quantronics Group, Service de Physique de l'Etat Condensé, Unité Mixte de Recherche 3680, Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France;
Patrice
P
Bertet
Quantronics Group, Service de Physique de l'Etat Condensé, Unité Mixte de Recherche 3680, Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France;
Yuimaru
Y
Kubo
Department of Physics and Astronomy and.
Klaus
K
Mølmer
Aarhus Institute of Advanced Studies, Aarhus University, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark; Institute of Electronic Structure and Laser, Foundation for Research and Technology - Hellas, GR-71110 Heraklion, Crete, Greece; and.
David
D
Petrosyan
Vienna Center for Quantum Science and Technology, Atominstitut, Vienna University of Technology Wien, A-1020 Vienna, Austria.
Peter
P
Rabl
Vienna Center for Quantum Science and Technology, Atominstitut, Vienna University of Technology Wien, A-1020 Vienna, Austria.
Jörg
J
Schmiedmayer
hybrid quantum systems; quantum information; quantum technologies