H. Jeffrey Kimble
California Institute of Technology
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Primary Section: 13, Physics Secondary Section: 33, Applied Physical Sciences Membership Type:
Member
(elected 2002)
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Research Interests
My research activities relate to quantum information science and to the quantum dynamics of open systems, including quantum measurement, cavity quantum electrodynamics, and the quantum-classical interface. A continuing theme is to exploit possibilities in the microscopic realm of quantum mechanics to accomplish tasks that would otherwise be impossible by classical means, such as for the processing and distribution of information. My research is in the area of optical physics and extends beyond traditional nonlinear optics and laser physics into a new regime with dynamical processes now involving atoms and photons taken one by one. Within the setting of cavity quantum electrodynamics, my colleagues and I have been able to achieve strong coupling for the interactions of a single atom with the field of a high-quality optical resonator, with critical photon number of only 0.0002. We have succeeded in constructing an atom-cavity microscope that tracks the motion of individual Cesium atoms bound in orbit by single photons inside an optical cavity. To realize quantum networks, my colleagues and I have achieved unconditional quantum teleportation for coherent states of the electromagnetic field and are working to extend these capabilities for teleportation of the quantum states of matter.
