Carlos Navarrete-Benlloch

   Course summary. Quantum optics is the fundamental theory for light-matter interactions, or with more generality, for quantum electrodynamics at low energies. This course thoroughly introduces the basics of this vast field, which is intimately connected to other fields such as quantum information and condensed matter physics.

   Starting from basic quantum mechanics and optics, key concepts in quantum optics are introduced in a consistent, self-contained fashion. Although the course focuses on the theoretical concepts, these will be connected to relevant experimental observations.

   The course covers a variety of basic topics in the field. In particular, it introduces the quantum theory of the electromagnetic field, including its most important types of states, how to generate them, and how to detect them. Students also learn about the quantum theory of matter (including atoms, dielectric materials, and other modern solid-state systems such as superconducting circuits) and its interactions with the electromagnetic field. One of the distinguishing features of quantum optics is that it deals with systems out of equilibrium (e.g., driven by lasers) that exchange energy and information with their environment (e.g., an optical cavities loosing light through imperfect mirrors). Hence, the course also covers the theory of open quantum systems, which is of fundamental relevance to essentially all branches of (quantum) physics.

   Overall, this is a course that no one with interest in modern quantum mechanics should miss, since it dives directly into the core of the theory, but builds towards the description of modern quantum technologies linked to computing, communication, and sensing.