Quantum Optics and Information Laboratory
Members: Gabriel Horácio Aguilar, Gabriela Barreto Lemos
Research Fields:Â Optics, Quantum Optics, Quantum Information
Telephone: +55 (21)Â 3938-7713
Location: Rooms A-445 Â and A-447
At the Quantum Optics and Quantum Information Laboratory of IF / UFRJ, we conduct experiments in Quantum Optics, the area of physics that describes the quantum behavior of light. The quantum of electromagnetic radiation is known as the “photon”. Our main working tool is the generation and detection of photon pairs. These photons are called “twins” because they are emitted simultaneously by a special light source. In addition, they exhibit entanglement, a strictly quantum type of correlation, which allows one to measure the properties of one photon to determine the properties of the other. Our goal is to understand the nature of light in its most fundamental aspects and to develop methods to use the strictly quantum properties in the processing and transmission of information. This last objective falls within the research field known as Quantum Information.
The focus of our research activities is the study of entanglement. We have performed studies in two regimes: discrete variables and continuous variables. In particular, in recent years we have studied extensively the behavior of entanglement under the effects of decoherence. The following are some research highlights obtained in recent years:
Entanglement redistribution in decoherence processes
Non-markovianity through acessible information
Quantum simulation of the cooling of a cluster state
Direct identification of continuous variable entanglement
The Quantum Optics and Information laboratory is part of the Quantum Optics and Information Group of the IF/UFRJ, and maintains a strong collaboration with the theoretical researchers of our group and also with several research groups in Brazil and abroad. The laboratory participates in the National Institute of Science and Technology of Quantum Information (INCT-IQ) and receives financial support from agencies FAPERJ, CAPES and CNPq. From 2010-2012 we participated in the European project PHORBITECH – A Toolbox for Optical Orbital Angular Momentum (www.phorbitech.eu).
