Many-body quantum optics in coupled cavity QED arrays

Superconducting circuits and circuit quantum electrodynamics provide an excellent toolbox for non-equilibrium quantum simulation. In circuit QED, the strong interaction of light with a single qubit can lead to strong qubit-mediated photon-photon interactions. Recent theoretical proposals have predicted phase transitions in arrays of these cavities, demonstrating that complex matter-like phenomena can emerge with such interacting photons. Due to inevitable photon dissipation and the ease of adding photons through driving, these systems are fundamentally open and a useful tool for studying non-equilibrium physics. I will discuss recent experimental and theoretical progress towards realization of these non-equilibrium quantum simulators, including a localization-delocalization crossover in a pair of coupled cavities and preliminary measurements of large cavity arrays and multi-mode cavities. I will show a variety of available measurement tools in these systems, including transport and scanned local quantum probes.

Prof. Andrew Houck is an Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering at Princeton University. He received his PhD in physics from Harvard University in 2005 and was a postdoctoral fellow at Yale University. His research focuses on quantum computing with superconducting circuits and non-equilibrium condensed matter physics using interacting photons. He has won several research awards, including a Packard Fellowship, a Sloan Fellowship, and the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE).