SPECIAL SEMINAR: Optical photon generation from a superconducting qubit

The ability to store, transfer, and process quantum information promises to transform how we calculate, communicate, and measure. The physical realization of large-scale quantum systems that can achieve these tasks is an outstanding challenge and an exciting frontier in modern physics. In the past two decades, superconducting circuits based on Josephson junctions emerged as a promising platform for quantum computation and simulation. However, these systems operate at low temperatures and microwave frequencies, and require a coherent interface with optical photons to transfer quantum information across long distances.In this talk, I will present our recent experiments demonstrating quantum transduction of a superconducting qubit excitation to an optical photon. I will describe how we use mesoscopic mechanical oscillators in their quantum ground states to coherently convert single photons from microwave frequencies to the optical domain. I will conclude by discussing the prospects of this approach for realizing quantum networks based on superconducting quantum processors and mechanical quantum memories.