Package 1: Basic experimental techniques
The main objective in the first WP is the experimental demonstration of the techniques and tools needed to realise quantum probes for many-body systems, whose local and global properties can be characterised by measurements of the probe decoherence (information flow).
Package 2: Advantages and limitations of quantum probes
The goal of this WP is to develop a general theory on the advantages and limitations of quantum probes by: 1) establishing a link between the environment spectrum the dynamics of back-flow of information for qubits in different open system scenarios; 2) studying the optimal characterisation of Gaussian and non-Gaussian coloured noise and pure dephasing noise (including non-stationary cases); 3) implementing a new all-optical experiment to reveal quantum correlations between two different environments.
Package 3: Quantum reservoir engineering
This WP is devoted to theoretical analysis and experimental verification of open quantum systems models in both the quantum optical and ultra-cold atoms platforms. In the former this involves 1) optical implementation of dephasing environments with tunable spectral density and 2) coloured noise with variable configurations for characterisation of optimal quantum probing schemes. In the ultra-cold atom platform we concentrate on the adjustable double square well model of an atomic impurity embedded in a cold gas.
Package 4: Complex many-body systems
This WP involves a systematic study of the quantum probing capabilities of different types of impurities interacting with Bose- Einstein condensates and Bose lattices. Similarly to WP 2, the emphasis here is on optimising the amount of information about the many-body system that we can extract through an impurity atom. In the second part of the WP we investigate ultra-cold cesium (Cs) atoms in low-dimensional structures, focusing on tight confinement and spin mixtures. Again, the work carried out is both theoretical and experimental.
Package 5: Non-equilibrium and emergent phenomena
This is the final WP of QuProCS consisting on an experimental test of new quantum simulations of non-equilibrium phenomena with ultra-cold gases. We aim at simulating dissipative Ising models, and experimentally verifying the well-known Tasaki-Crooks equality. The very last chapter is devoted to detection and characterisation of emergent phenomena in bosonic networks with specific reference to 1) the design of optimal static and dynamic probes; 2) the benchmarking of quantum against classical probes; 3) the investigation of quantum synchronisation in bosonic networks; 4) the study of quantum transport on random networks.