Physics 45200 Quantum Optics and Quantum Gases
Day/Time: MW 9:00 - 10:20 am
Location: KPTC 101
Lecturer: Cheng Chin cchin@uchicago.edu
Graders:
Office Hours: TuTh 10:20 - 11:00 am @ GCIS E107
Focus: This course integrates quantum optics, quantum many-body physics, and atom scattering through lectures, discussions and computational projects. The course will offer fundamental understandings and collaborative simulation of essential many-body platforms:
Project 1: Quantum Circuit
Project 2: Hubbard Lattice Model
Project 3: Multichannel Scattering
The emphasis is on physics-driven problem solving, controlled approximations, and hands-on numerical implementation, rather than black-box software use.
Prerequisite:
1. Physics and math: Quantum mechanics, linear algebra, tensor products, approximation methods
2. Basic many-body physics
3. Working knowledge of Python or equivalent
Core Tools:
1. Programming: Python (NumPy, SciPy), Qiskit, sparse matrices
2. Visualization: Matplotlib, Plotly
3. Web Apps: Streamlit or Panel (recommended)
4. Version Control: Git + GitHub (shared repos)
Class outline:
1. Quantum Circuit (Reading: Qiskit textbook)
Wk1 03/23 M 9:00~10:20 Hilbert space and tensor product
Wk1 03/25 W 9:00~10:20 Gate operations and Bloch sphere HW1
Wk2 03/30 M 9:00~10:20 Entanglement and measurement
Wk2 04/01 W 9:00~10:20 Workshop on Project 1
Wk3 04/06 M 9:00~10:20 Quantum algorithms
2. Lattice Models (Reading: Bloch/Dalibard/Zwerger (RMP))
Wk3 04/08 W 9:00~10:20 Second quantization
Wk3 04/10 F 3:00~4:20 (Bose-)Hubbard model
Wk4 04/13 M 9:00~10:20 Superfluid and Mott insulator HW2
Wk5 04/20 M 9:00~10:20 Workshop on Project 2
Wk5 04/22 W 9:00~10:20 Order parameter and phase transition
3. Quantum Scattering (Reading: Julienne/Hutson lecture notes)
Wk6 04/27 M 9:00~10:20 Partial wave expansion and scattering length
Wk6 04/29 W 9:00~10:20 Coupled channel scattering and Feshbach resonance HW3
Wk6 05/01 F 3:00~4:20 Interacting quantum fluids
Wk7 05/06 W 9:00~10:20 Workshop on Project 3
Wk8 05/11 W 9:00~10:20 Pairing and quantum statistics
4. Project Presentations
Wk8 05/11 W 9:00~10:20 Presentation 1
Wk9 05/18 W 9:00~10:20 Presentation 2
Wk9 05/20 M 9:00~10:20 Presentation 3
Evaluation
Homeworks: 30%
Project contribution: 40%
Final presentation & documentation: 30%
Recommended Textbooks and Online Sources
General Quantum Foundations
• J. J. Sakurai & Jim Napolitano, Modern Quantum Mechanics — graduate-level foundations.
• MIT OCW Quantum Physics III (3.091 / 8.04) — strong conceptual grounding.
Quantum Circuit Simulation
• J. Preskill lecture notes on Quantum Computation
• IBM Qiskit Tutorials — real quantum circuit simulation examples.
Lattice Model Calculation
• Bloch, J. Dalibard & W. Zwerger, “Many-Body Physics with Ultracold Gases” (RMP)
• Lectures on Many-Body Physics by Ashvin Vishwanath
Atomic scattering
• Julienne & Hutson lecture notes
• Chin et al, Feshbach resonance (RMP)
App integration and deployment
• Python Data Science Handbook
• Streamlit/Plotly docs