We are looking for a PhD student to join our team and contribute to cutting-edge research in quantum computing, with a focus on quantum compilation. You will join the Theory of Computer Science group (TCS) at the Informatics Institute and will be working together with researchers from QuSoft.
This PhD project aims to push the state-of-the-art in quantum compilation, verification and/or classical simulation. The exact project will be determined in collaboration with you based on your strengths and interests, but could for instance involve developing new techniques for efficiently optimizing quantum computations, both in the near-term and in the fault-tolerant setting, developing new protocols in quantum error correction, finding more efficient ways to classically simulate quantum computations, or prove new foundational properties on the structures underlying quantum computations. A main component of the project will be using the ZX-calculus, a graphical language for reasoning more intuitively about quantum processes.
As PhD student you will be expected to take an active role in QuSoft by attending seminars and presenting your work. Part of your responsibilities will be to TA a small number of courses over the course of your PhD, and potentially to supervise BSc or MSc students.
The PhD candidate will greatly benefit from the active and growing community of quantum computing researchers in Amsterdam. There will be plenty opportunities for collaboration with others and learning about a wide variety of topics in quantum computing and quantum information theory.
With this project, you will join a team of experimental quantum physicists at the University of Amsterdam who are building two new types of optical clock. Optical clocks are the most precise measurement instruments in the world, going wrong by only one second over the lifetime of the universe. They enable searches for beyond standard model physics, can explore quantum many-body systems, and have practical applications in geodesy, navigation and network synchronization.
State-of-the-art optical clocks are working in a pulsed fashion and need hours of averaging to reach their final accuracy. A main goal of our research is to reduce this to a few minutes, which would open new opportunities for clocks. We want to achieve this by creating clocks that can be operated truly continuously, using technology that we have developed to achieve continuous Bose-Einstein condensation [Nature 606, 683 (2022)]. We are building two types of such clocks: a superradiant clock and a zero-deadtime clock. A superradiant clock is a laser that lases on an ultranarrow optical transition. You can read about our plans for this clock inSheng Zhou’s PhD thesis. For the zero-deadtime clock, we supply atoms from a continuous ultracold Sr source to four clock interrogation zones that are in one vacuum chamber. Clock interrogation can always be executed in at least one zone, while others are reloaded with atoms, enabling continuous operation. We have one PhD opening on each of these sub-projects.
This project is embedded in the QDNLUltracold Atom Quantum Sensing Testbed, which will allow you to learn about many interesting projects related to your PhD, such as creating a European optical time and frequency distribution network, building an industry prototype of an optical clock, building continuously operating atom interferometers, orimproving the way in which optics is built. Our group has furthermore quantum simulation experiments using Rb-Sr mixtures or single Sr atoms in optical tweezer arrays. Your PhD project will profit from synergy with all these activities.
QuSoft is the Dutch research center for quantum software & technology. Launched by CWI and UvA in December 2015, QuSoft builds on the institutions’ excellent track record in quantum computing and quantum information.
Science Park 123
1098 XG Amsterdam
the Netherlands
T: +31 (0)20 592 9333
E: info@qusoft.org