Seminars 2024

The axion, a pseudoscalar particle originally introduced to solve the ‘’strong CP problem’’, is a well motivated dark-matter candidate with a mass lying in a broad range from peV to few meV. Axions clustered inside our galaxy may be observed by means of detectors called “haloscopes” consisting in a resonant cavity immersed in a static magnetic field that triggers the axion conversion to microwave photons. 

After a brief introduction to axion physics, I will present the status and perspectives for axion dark-matter searches at Italian Institute of Nuclear Physics (INFN). I’ll show the recent results of QUAX, an INFN experiment that operates two haloscopes at the national laboratories in Frascati and Legnaro, and the related R&D on resonant cavities and quantum superconducting devices. Finally, I will discuss the proposal for a large haloscope, FLASH, built by recycling a superconducting solenoid of 1.4 m radius, 2.2 m length and 1.1 T field at INFN National Laboratory of Frascati (LNF). FLASH will probe axions with a mass around 1 micro-eV, as well as dark photons and high frequency gravitational waves. Recently, after the refurbishing of the cryogenic lines and of the control system, the magnet was energized with about 2700 ampere to generate, again after two decades, a 1.1 T field.

Indico (with zoom link)  - slides - video recording

CERN has started its second phase of the Quantum Technology Initiative with 5year-term plan aligned with the CERN research and collaboration objectives. This effort is designed to build specific capacity and technology platforms, and support a longer-term strategy to use quantum technology at CERN and in HEP in the future. Constructed over four specific and focused Centers of Competence, in this talk we will discuss Hybrid Quantum Computing Infrastructures Algorithms and Applications. After a preliminary introduction about the promise of quantum computing, we will discover main research directions and results from theoretical foundations of quantum machine learning algorithms to application in several areas of HEP.

Indico (with zoom link)  - slides - video recording

Developing a large-scale quantum information processor has become a major industrial challenge over the last few years. Of the many quantum systems available to tackle this challenge, superconducting circuits have shown impressive results thus far and appear to be posed to scale up rapidly. In this presentation, I will discuss some of the materials challenges associated with developing superconducting circuits for large scale quantum information processors. This includes providing a basic introduction to superconducting qubits, their fabrication, measurement, and coupled operations. I will then explore some of the emerging opportunities for improving, connecting, and expanding these systems for processing quantum information. In particular, I will highlight some of the efforts at the National Institute of Standards & Technology in Boulder, Colorado, USA.

Indico (with zoom link)  - slides - video recording

Increasing number of qubits on current quantum devices while maintaining high gate fidelity and full connectivity is a signature of the quantum charge coupled devices (QCCD) of Quantinuum. This progress allowed Quantinuum to recently demonstrate algorithms that go beyond classical simulations on supercomputers. I will introduce the H-series hardware of Quantinuum with 56 fully-connected qubits and a two-qubit gate fidelity of 99.84%. Then I will describe the recent random circuit sampling (RCS) experiment and how it sets a new bar for NISQ quantum computers.

Indico (with zoom link)  - slides - video recording