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Quantum physics has recently started to transition from dedicated laboratory experiments to practical engineering applications. The field promises to be the next big step in technology and has the potential to revolutionize modern sensing and computing capabilities. However, considerable effort is required to achieve the levels of robustness and reliability that are to be expected outside an applied physics laboratory. Control engineering plays a key component is achieving these goals.

Shaken Lattice Interferometry for Quantum Inertial Sensing

The ESA Gravity Field and Steady-State Ocean Circulation Explorer (GOCE) requires high-accuracy gravity measurements to study oceans, geology, and climate.

This project investigates the control of utracold atoms trapped in an optical atomic lattice. By suitably modulating the optical lattice, it is possible to manipulate the atoms in a way that mimics the behavior of an interferometer. The envisioned result is a quantum inertial sensors that is significantly more accurate than existing sensors, thus enabling a new generation of spacecraft capable of performing autonomous deep space exploration without having to rely on Earth-based tracking systems. The project started out as a "small" (5 faculty) NSF project and then flourished into a multi-university NASA Space Technology Research Institute (STRI) led by UT Austin.

Collaborators: Dana Anderson¹, Penina Axelrad¹, Murray Holland¹, ², ³,
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2. Worcester Polytechnic Institute
3. University of Texas at Austin

Students: Anne Cross Theurkauf, Jieqiu Shao, Ali Sulehria

Funding:  (Award Number: 1936303),  (Quantum Pathways Institute)

Q-PRONTO: a Newton-based Solver for Quantum Optimal Control

The objective of this project is to develop a systematic tool for solving quantum optimal control problems by specializing the  to account for the peculiarities of quantum systems. The envisioned tool will (hopefully) be released as a Julia Package any enable any quantum researcher to systematically obtain highly performant control inputs for any given problem. 

Collaborators: Josh Combes¹, ¹
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Students: Jieqiu Shao, Mantas Naris, Simon Jones

Laser Control for Trapped-ion Quantum Metrology

Image by Nate Phillips, NIST.

This project investigates the design of advanced control laws for the stabilization and disturbance rejection of the clock laser that operates the Al⁺ optical atomic clock at the . The objective is to further improve the accuracy of this device (currently the most accurate time-measuring instrument) by reducing its sensitivity to thermal and mechanical disturbances. This will require an extensive system identification campaign to generate a suitable model for both the laser dynamics and the external distrurbances.

Collaborators: ¹
1. National Institute of Standards and Technology

Students: Jacob Cook

Funding: CUbit Quantum Initiative (Seed grant)