Theoretical Quantum-Nano Photonics

Prof. Dr. Darrick Chang

Activities:

Our research focuses on developing novel techniques to manipulate quantum interactions between light and matter, advancing theoretical tools to understand these phenomena, and proposing novel applications for such systems. Topics that we are interested in include, but are not limited to:

• Atom-nanophotonics interfaces
• Quantum optics and atomic physics
• Quantum optics using atomic arrays
• Nanoscale optical trapping techniques
• Quantum vacuum (Casimir) forces
• Optomechanics
• Quantum optics with 2D materials

We work on a combination of fundamental and applied research in these areas, and furthermore collaborate with leading experimental groups worldwide to bring our ideas toward realization.

The group has opportunities for outstanding PhD students and postdocs. For more information, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. directly. Information on application procedures can be found on the ICFO jobs website.

Collaborations:

Links:

Contact: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Theoretical Quantum-Nano Photonics

Prof. Dr. Darrick Chang

Group Leader
• Prof. Dr. Darrick Chang

Postdoctoral Researchers
• Dr. Gian Marcello Andolina
• Dr. Giuseppe Calajò
• Dr. Daniel Hümmer
• Dr. Charlie-Ray Mann

PhD Students
• Francesco Andreoli
• Javier Argüello Luengo
• Daniel Goncalves Romeu
• Stefano Grava
• Teresa Karanikolaou

Undergrad & Postgrad Students
• Cristian Tabares
• Bennet Windt

ICFO Summer Fellows
• Maria Flors Mor Ruiz

Former Group Members
• Andreas Albrecht, Postdoctoral researcher
• Ana Asenjo, Postdoctoreal researcher
• Robert James Bettles, Postdoctoral researcher
• Tommaso Caneva, Research fellow
• James Douglas, Postdoctoral researcher
• Nikos Fayard, Postdoctoral researcher
• Hessam Habibian, Postdoctoral researcher
• Loïc Henriet, Postdoctoral researcher
• Marinko Jablan, Postdoctoral researcher
• Zhaozhe Li, Postdoctoral researcher
• Marcos López, PhD student
• Marco Manzoni, PhD student
• Lukas Neumeier, PhD student
• Roberto Tricarico, Visiting scientist

Theoretical Quantum-Nano Photonics

Prof. Dr. Darrick Chang

Regular Papers
• Maximum refractive index of an atomic medium F. Andreoli, M. J. Gullans, A. A. High, A. Browaeys, D. E. Chang Phys. Rev. X 11, 011026 (2021) Highlighted in Physics
• Atomic spin-wave control and spin-dependent kicks with shaped subnanosecond pulses Y. He, L. Ji, Y. Wang, L. Qiu, J. Zhao, Y. Ma, X. Huang, S. Wu, D. E. Chang Phys. Rev. Research 2, 043418 (2020)
• Geometric control of collective spontaneous emission Y. He, L. Ji, Y. Wang, L. Qiu, J. Zhao, Y. Ma, X. Huang, S. Wu, D. E. Chang Phys. Rev. Lett. 125, 213602 (2020)
• Nonequilibrium diagrammatic approach to strongly interacting photons J. Lang, D. E. Chang, F. Piazza Phys. Rev. A 102, 033720 (2020)
• Interaction-induced transparency for strong-coupling polaritons J. Lang, D. Chang, F. Piazza Phys. Rev. Lett. 125, 133604 (2020)
• Green´s-function formalism for resonant interaction of x rays with nuclei in structured media X. Kong, D. E. Chang, A. Pálffy Phys. Rev. A 102, 033710 (2020)
• Dynamics of many-body photon bound states in chiral waveguide QED S. Mahmoodian, G. Calajó, D. E. Chang, K. Hammerer, A. S. Sørensen Phys. Rev. X 10, 031011 (2020)
• Photon propagation through dissipative Rydberg media at large input rates P. Bienias, J. Douglas, A. Paris-Mandoki, P. Titum, I. Mirgorodskiy, C. Tresp, E. Zeuthen, M. J. Gullans, M. Manzoni, S. Hofferberth, D. Chang, A. V. Gorshkov Phys. Rev. Research 2, 033049 (2020)
• Topological quantum optics using atomlike emitter arrays coupled to photonic crystals J. Perczel, J. Borregaard, D. Chang, S. Yelin, M. Lukin Phys. Rev. Lett. 124, 083603 (2020)
• Optical waveguiding by atomic entanglement in multilevel atom arrays A. Asenjo-Garcia, H. J. Kimble, D. E. Chang P. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA , 201911467 (2019)
• Analogue quantum chemistry simulation J. Argüello-Luengo, A. González-Tudela, T. Shi, P. Zoller, J. I. Cirac Nature 574, 215-218 (2019)
• Cavity quantum electrodynamics with atom-like mirrors M. Mirhosseini, E. Kim, X. Zhang, A. Sipahigil, P. B. Dieterle, A. J. Keller, A. Asenjo-Garcia, D. E. Chang, O. Painter Nature 569, 692-697 (2019)
• Origins of all-optical generation of plasmons in graphene C. J. Tollerton, J. Bohn, T. J. Constant, S. A. R. Horsley, D. E. Chang, E. Hendry, D. Z. Li Sci. Rep. 9, 3267 (2019)
• Subradiant states of quantum bits coupled to a one-dimensional waveguide A. Albrecht, L. Henriet, A. Asenjo-Garcia, P. B. Dieterle, O. Painter, D. E. Chang New J. Phys. 21, 025003 (2019)
• Critical open-system dynamics in a one-dimensional optical-lattice clock L. Henriet, J. S. Douglas, D. E. Chang, A. Albrecht Phys. Rev. A 99, 023802 (2019)
• Population mixing due to dipole-dipole interactions in a one-dimensional array of multilevel atoms E. Munro, A. Asenjo-Garcia, Y. Lin, L. C. Kwek, C. A. Regal, D. E. Chang Phys. Rev. A 98, 033815 (2018)
• Optimization of photon storage fidelity in ordered atomic arrays M. T. Manzoni, M. Moreno-Cardoner, A. Asenjo-Garcia, J. V. Porto, A. V. Gorshkov, D. E. Chang New J. Phys. 20, 083048 (2018)
• Exploring unresolved sideband, optomechanical strong coupling using a single atom coupled to a cavity L. Neumeier, D. E. Chang New J. Phys. 20, 083004 (2018)
• Colloquium: Quantum matter built from nanoscopic lattices of atoms and photons D. Chang, J. Douglas, A. González-Tudela, C. Hung, H. Kimble Rev. Mod. Phys. 90, 031002 (2018)
• Photonic band structure of two-dimensional atomic lattices J. Perczel, J. Borregaard, D. E. Chang, H. Pichler, S. F. Yelin, P. Zoller, M. D. Lukin Phys. Rev. A 96, 063801 (2017)
• Simulating quantum light propagation through atomic ensembles using matrix product states M. T. Manzoni, D. E. Chang, J. S. Douglas Nature Commun. 8, 1743 (2017)
• Changing optical band structure with single photons A. Albrecht, T. Caneva, D. E. Chang New J. Phys. 19, 115002 (2017)
• Changing optical band structure with single photons A. Albrecht, T. Caneva, D. E. Chang New J. Phys. 19, 115002 (2017)
• Optical properties of an atomic ensemble coupled to a band edge of a photonic crystal waveguide E. Munro, L. C. Kwek, D. E. Chang New J. Phys. 19, 083018 (2017)
• Exponential improvement in photon storage fidelities using subradiance and “Selective radiance” in atomic arrays A. Asenjo-Garcia, M. Moreno-Cardoner, A. Albrecht, H. J. Kimble, D. E. Chang Phys. Rev. X 7, 031024 (2017)
• Topological quantum optics in two-dimensional atomic arrays J. Perczel, J. Borregaard, D. E. Chang, H. Pichler, S. Yelin, P. Zoller, M. Lukin Phys. Rev. Lett. 119, 023603 (2017)
• Intensity dependences of the nonlinear optical excitation of plasmons in graphene T. J. Constant, S. M. Hornett, D. E. Chang, E. Hendry Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A 375, 20160066 (2017)
• Designing exotic many-body states of atomic spin and motion in photonic crystals M. T. Manzoni, L. Mathey, D. E. Chang Nature Commun. 8, 14696 (2017)
• Atom-light interactions in quasi-one-dimensional nanostructures: A Green's-function perspective A. Asenjo-Garcia, J. D. Hood, D. E. Chang, H. J. Kimble Phys. Rev. A 95, 033818 (2017)
• Self-organization of atoms coupled to a chiral reservoir Z. Eldredge, P. Solano, D. Chang, A. V. Gorshkov Phys. Rev. A 94, 053855 (2016)
• Dispersion relations for stationary light in one-dimensional atomic ensembles I. Iakoupov, J. R. Ott, D. E. Chang, A. S. Sørensen Phys. Rev. A 94, 053824 (2016)
• Atom–atom interactions around the band edge of a photonic crystal waveguide J. D. Hood, A. Goban, A. Asenjo-Garcia, M. Lu, S.-P. Yu, D. E. Chang, J. Kimble P. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 113, 10507-10512 (2016)
• Photon molecules in atomic gases trapped near photonic crystal waveguides J. S. Douglas, T. Caneva, D. E. Chang Phys. Rev. X 6, 031017 (2016)
• Atom-field dressed states in slow-light waveguide QED G. Calajó, F. Ciccarello, D. Chang, P. Rabl Phys. Rev. A 93, 033833 (2016)
• Electromechanical control of nitrogen-vacancy defect emission using graphene NEMS A. Reserbat-Plantey, K. G. Schädler, L. Gaudreau, G. Navickaite, J. Güttinger, D. Chang, C. Toninelli,
  A. Bachtold, F. H. L. Koppens Nature Commun. 7, 10218 (2016)
• All-optical generation of surface plasmons in graphene T. J. Constant, S. M. Hornett, D. E. Chang, E. Hendry Nature Phys. 12, 124-127 (2016)
• Self-induced back-action optical trapping in nanophotonic systems L. Neumeier, R. Quidant, D. E Chang New J. Phys. 17, 123008 (2015)
• Multiphoton-scattering theory and generalized master equations T. Shi, D. E. Chang, J. I. Cirac Phys. Rev. A 92, 053834 (2015)
• Quantum dynamics of propagating photons with strong interactions: a generalized input–output formalism T. Caneva, M. T. Manzoni, T. Shi, J. S. Douglas, J I. Cirac, D. E Chang New J. Phys. 17, 113001 (2015)
• Deterministic generation of arbitrary photonic states assisted by dissipation A. González-Tudela, V. Paulisch, D. E. Chang, H. J. Kimble, J. I. Cirac Phys. Rev. Lett. 115, 163603 (2015)
• Second-order quantum nonlinear optical processes in single graphene nanostructures and arrays M. T. Manzoni, I. Silveiro, F. J. García de Abajo, D. E. Chang New J. Phys. 17, 083031 (2015)
• Multiplasmon absorption in graphene M. Jablan, D. E. Chang Phys. Rev. Lett. 114, 236801 (2015)
• Quantum many-body models with cold atoms coupled to photonic crystals J. S. Douglas, H. Habibian, C.-L. Hung, A. V. Gorshkov, H. J. Kimble, D. E. Chang Nature Photon. 9, 326-331 (2015)
• Subwavelength vacuum lattices and atom–atom interactions in two-dimensional photonic crystals A. González-Tudela, C.-L. Hung, D. E. Chang, J. I. Cirac, H. J. Kimble Nature Photon. 9, 320-325 (2015)
• Quantum nonlinear optics — photon by photon D. E. Chang, V. Vuletić, M. D. Lukin Nature Photon. 8, 685-694 (2014)
• Trapping atoms using nanoscale quantum vacuum forces D. E. Chang, K. Sinha, J. M. Taylor, H. J. Kimble Nature Commun. 5, 4343 (2014)
• Harnessing vacuum forces for quantum sensing of graphene motion C. A. Muschik, S. Moulieras, A. Bachtold, F. H. L. Koppens, M. Lewenstein, D. E. Chang Phys. Rev. Lett. 112, 223601 (2014)
• Single-photon transistor based on superconducting systems M. T. Manzoni, F. Reiter, J. M. Taylor, A. S. Sørensen Phys. Rev. B 89, 180502(R) (2014)
• Plasmons in spatially separated double-layer graphene nanoribbons M. Bagheri, M. Bahrami J. Appl. Phys. 115, 174301 (2014)
• Atom-light interactions in photonic crystals A. Goban, C.-L. Hung, S.-P. Yu, J. D. Hood, J. A. Muniz, J. H. Lee, M. J. Martin, A.C. McClung, K. S. Choi, D. E. Chang, O. Painter, H. J. Kimble Nature Commun. 5, 3808 (2014)
• Coupling graphene mechanical resonators to superconducting microwave cavities P. Weber, J. Güttinger, I. Tsioutsios, D. E. Chang, A. Bachtold Nano Lett. 14, 2854–2860 (2014)
• Complexity of controlling quantum many-body dynamics T. Caneva, A. Silva, R. Fazio, S. Lloyd, T. Calarco, S. Montangero Phys. Rev. A 89, 042322 (2014)
• Stationary entanglement of photons and atoms in a high-finesse resonator H. Habibian, S. Zippilli, F. Illuminati, G. Morigi Phys. Rev. A 89, 023832 (2014)
• Effects of screening on the optical absorption in graphene and in metallic monolayers M. Jablan, M. Soljačić, H. Buljan Phys. Rev. B 89, 085415 (2014)
• Speeding up and slowing down the relaxation of a qubit by optimal control V. Mukherjee, A. Carlini, A. Mari, T. Caneva, S. Montangero, T. Calarco, R. Fazio, V. Giovannetti Phys. Rev. A 88, 062326 (2013)
• Single-photon nonlinear optics with graphene plasmons M. Gullans, D. E. Chang, F. H. L. Koppens, G. J. Garcia de Abajo, M. D. Lukin Phys. Rev. Lett. 111, 247401 (2013) Highlighted in Nature Photon.
• A single-atom optical switch D. Chang Physics 6, 121 (2013)
• Quantum phases of incommensurate optical lattices due to cavity backaction H. Habibian, A. Winter, S. Paganelli, H. Rieger, G. Morigi Phys. Rev. A 88, 043618 (2013)
• Cooling of atomic ensembles in optical cavities: Semiclassical limit S. Schütz, H. Habibian, G. Morigi Phys. Rev. A 88, 033427 (2013)
• Scattering distributions in the presence of measurement backaction J. S. Douglas, K. Burnett J. Phys. B: At. Mol. Opt. Phys. 46, 205301 (2013)
• Seeding patterns for self-organization of photons and atoms W. Niedenzu, S. Schütz, H. Habibian, G. Morigi, H. Ritsch Phys. Rev. A 88, 033830 (2013)
• Trapped atoms in one-dimensional photonic crystals C. L. Hung, S. M. Meenehan, D. E. Chang, O. Painter, H. J. Kimble New J. Phys. 15, 083026 (2013)
• Engineering p-wave interactions in ultracold atoms using nanoplasmonic traps B. Juliá-Díaz, T. Graß, O. Dutta, D. E. Chang , M. Lewenstein Nature Commun. 4, 2046 (2013) Highlighted in Physics.org
• Self-organization of atoms along a nanophotonic waveguide D. E. Chang, J. I. Cirac, H. J. Kimble Phys. Rev. Lett. 110, 113606 (2013)
• Mimicking interacting relativistic theories with stationary pulses of light D. G. Angelakis, M. X. Huo, D. Chang, L. C. Kwek, V. Korepin Phys. Rev. Lett. 110, 100502 (2013)
• Dynamics of levitated nanospheres: towards the strong coupling regime T. S. Monteiro, J. Millen, G. A. T. Pender, F. Marquardt, D. Chang, P. F. Barker New J. Phys. 15, 015001 (2013)
• Temporal quantum control with graphene A. Manjavacas, S. Thongrattanasiri, D. E. Chang, F. J. Garcia de Abajo New J. Phys. 14, 123020 (2012)
• Nanoplasmonic lattices for ultracold atoms M. Gullans, T. Tiecke. D. E. Chang, J. Feist, J. D. Thompson, J. I. Cirac, P. Zoller, M. D. Lukin Phys. Rev. Lett. 109, 235309 (2012)
• Robust-fidelity atom-photon entangling gates in the weak coupling regime Y. Li, L. Aolita, D. E. Chang, L. C. Kwek Phys. Rev. Lett. 109, 160504 (2012)
• Cavity QED with atomic mirrors D. E. Chang, L. Jiang, A. V. Gorshkov, H. J. Kimble New J. Phys. 14, 063003 (2012) Highlighted in New J. Phys.
• Enhancement of mechanical Q factors by optical trapping K.-K. Ni, R. Norte, D. J. Wilson, J. D. Hood, D. E. Chang, O. Painter, H. J. Kimble Phys. Rev. Lett. 108, 214302 (2012)
• Ultrahigh-Q mechanical oscillators through optical trapping D. E. Chang, K-K Ni, O. Painter, H. J. Kimble New J. Phys. 14, 045002 (2012)
• Quantum transport of strongly interacting photons in a one-dimensional nonlinear waveguide M. Hafezi, D. E. Chang, V. Gritsev, E. Demler, M. D. Lukin Phys. Rev. A 85, 013822 (2012)
• Graphene plasmonics: A platform for strong light
  -matter interactions F. H. L. Koppens, D. E. Chang, F. J. García de Abajo Nano Lett. 11, 3370-3377 (2011)

PhD Theses
• Novel regimes of quantum optomechanics L. Neumeier
• New systems for quantum nonlinear optics M. T. Manzoni

Theoretical Quantum-Nano Photonics

Prof. Dr. Darrick Chang

• 2021-03-30 Why are optical refractive indices so small? An international team of scientists reports in Physical Review X on a new theory that can explain why the refractive index of a disordered atomic medium only reaches a maximum value of 1.7.
• 2020-12-15 GEFES RSEF 2020 Best Featured Article of the Year Javier Argüello-Luengo awarded for the paper “Analogue quantum chemistry simulation” published in Nature
• 2020-12-09 Three ERC Consolidator Grants for ICFO Professors Darrick Chang, Gerasimos Konstantatos and Leticia Tarruell granted ERC Consolidator Grants for mid-career research leaders
• 2020-10-20 QuantumCAT: Accelerating the application of quantum technologies A consortium of research institutes, led by ICFO, and industry partners in Catalonia join forces to develop the Quantum Technologies Hub.
• 2020-10-07 Kick-off of DAALI An international team of researchers from ICFO, CNRS, Sorbonne University, MuQuans, Humboldt University and Weizmann Institute of Science come together to work on new protocols and platforms for quantum atom-light interfaces.
• 2020-06-08 Photonics will Shape the Future Darrick Chang’s FoQAL project highlighted as one of most promising photonics projects funded by the ERC
• 2019-10-10 Simulating molecules with quantum simulators A study published in Nature provides a solution on how to simulate chemical reactions with quantum chemistry.
• 2019-06-14 The Quantum Communications Infrastructure Declaration The European Commission signs the declaration with member states.
• 2019-03-01 Graphene and Quantum Technologies team up at the Mobile World Congress 2019 The Graphene and Quantum Flagships exhibit technologies and present the initiatives at the world’s largest telecommunication event.
• 2018-07-02 Congratulations to New ICFO PhD graduate Dr. Lukas Neumeier graduated with a thesis in “Novel regimes of quantum optomechanics”
• 2018-03-02 American Physical Society Prof. Darrick Chang recognized for outstanding service to the physics community.
• 2017-10-19 Congratulations to New ICFO PhD graduate Dr. Marco Manzoni graduated with a thesis in “New Systems for Quantum Nonlinear Optics”
• 2017-07-12 New Tenured Group Leader Prof. Darrick Chang awarded tenure at ICFO
• 2017-05-04 Light Matter: Workshop on quantum light-matter interactions in low dimensions ICFO Auditorium
• 2017-04-03 Interfacing cold atoms and photonic crystals Spin-motion coupling as a dominant phenomenon in hybrid systems of atoms and photonic crystals in Nature Communications.
• 2016-03-11 ICFO Master School on Quantum Nano- and Opto-mechanics ”ICFO Schools on the Frontiers of Light” to take place in July 2016.
• 2016-01-15 Nano-photonics meets nano-mechanics Controlling on-chip nano-optics by graphene nano-opto-mechanics
• 2015-11-19 Nonlinear excitation of graphene plasmons The nonlinear response of graphene enables excitation and detection of plasmons using far-field optics
• 2015-10-20 2014 Hottest Research Three ICFO studies among most cited and influential core papers of 2014 in Graphene Plasmonics in Thomson Reuters citation-based list
• 2015-04-07 A new quantum material in Nature Photonics Strong interactions between atomic spins, phonons, and photons in photonic crystals
• 2014-12-16 ERC Starting Grant Awarded to Prof Darrick Chang Starting Grant funding supports young researchers to establish themselves as independent research leaders.
• 2014-05-13 Interfacing cold atoms and nanophotonics Coupling atoms to an integrated photonic crystal circuit in Nature Communications.
• 2014-02-19 Most cited 2011 NanoLetters paper Graphene Plasmonics: A Platform for Strong Light-Matter Interactions
• 2013-07-04 Generating Laughlin states with atomic systems Collaboration between the University of Barcelona and ICFO published in Nature Communications.
• 2013-02-27 New Journal of Physics 2012 Highlights Five ICFO papers included in the NJP “Highlight of 2012 collection”.
• 2011-08-17 New Junior Group Leader ICFO is happy to announce the arrival of Dr. Darrick Chang as a Nest Fellow.