Making quantum connections: The speed of information in a spin network

In quantum mechanics, interactions between particles can give rise to entanglement, which is a strange type of connection that could never be described by a non-quantum, classical theory. These connections, called quantum correlations, are present in entangled systems even if the objects are not physically linked (with wires, for example). Entanglement is at the heart of what distinguishes purely quantum systems from classical ones; it is why they are potentially useful, but it sometimes makes them very difficult to understand.

Physicists are pretty adept at controlling quantum systems and even making certain entangled states. Now JQI researchers, led by theorist Alexey Gorshkov and experimentalist Christopher Monroe, are putting these skills to work to explore the dynamics of correlated quantum systems. What does it mean for objects to interact locally versus globally? How do local and global interactions translate into larger, increasingly connected networks? How fast can certain entanglement patterns form? These are the kinds of questions that the Monroe and Gorshkov teams are asking. Their recent results investigating how information flows through a quantum many-body system are published this week in the journal Nature, and in a second paper to appear in Physical Review Letters.