Serge Haroche
College de France
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Primary Section: 13, Physics Secondary Section: 33, Applied Physical Sciences Membership Type:
International Member
(elected 2010)
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Research Interests
My main research areas are in quantum optics and experimental quantum information science. I have made many contributions to Cavity Quantum Electrodynamics, the branch of quantum optics studying the interactions of single atoms with photons inside high-Q quality factor cavities. With my research team, we have demonstrated the enhancement of single atom spontaneous emission in a cavity (1983) and observed the decoherence of mesoscopic superpositions of field states containing several photons (so-called Schrödinger cat states) (1996). We have also achieved the quantum-non-demolition measurement of a single photon (1999) and the repetitive non destructive detection of photons, revealing the quantum jumps of light (2007). In several experiments manipulating single atoms and photons in high-Q cavities, I have demonstrated with my team basic quantum information procedures, such as the generation of atom-atom and atom-photon entanglement, the realization of photonic memories and the operation of quantum logic gates involving photons and atoms as quantum bits. These experiments illustrate fundamental aspects of quantum physics, explore the boundary between the quantum and classical worlds, and open perspectives for the processing of quantum information.
