Shovan Dutta
Dr Shovan Dutta
Assistant Professor at RRI
Visitor in Prof Cooper's group
Email: sd843@tcm.phy.cam.ac.uk
Personal website and
ORCID
TCM Group, Cavendish Laboratory
19 JJ Thomson Avenue,
Cambridge, CB3 0HE UK.
Research
My research is focused on predicting new phenomena in interacting quantum gases by theoretical modeling and numerical simulation. This is in part motivated by the advent of versatile experimental platforms for trapping and manipulating systems of atoms and photons. In the past, I have studied exotic phases of matter, collective excitations, and quantum dynamics of such systems. My recent work has explored novel out-of-equilibrium properties arising in the presence of symmetry, dissipation, periodic driving, or gauge field, and how they can be observed in experiments. I am also actively involved in developing widely applicable numerical techniques, such as DMRG for continuum systems.
In Plain English
“The behavior of things in the small scale is so fantastic! It is so wonderfully different! So marvelously different than anything that behaves on a large scale.” – Richard Feynman
I get to play with the strange mathematical rules of quantum mechanics which gives rise to this small-scale behaviour. Although everything is made up of these tiny objects or "atoms," their quantum nature is often blurred by thermal fluctuations (random jiggling motion). As matter is cooled down to near absolute zero, these fluctuations die out and one enters the quantum realm in full glory. Thanks to experimental advances, it is now possible to "cook" such scenarios in a controllable setting and "look" at how individual particles behave. Understanding this quantum world is central to modern electronics and will play a key role in future technologies. I use a blend of analytical and numerical approaches to explore the rich features which emerge in these systems. For example, below are news articles written for a general audience.
- Surprising nature of quantum solitary waves revealed — Ripples on a superfluid (a novel phase of matter)
- Researchers pave an enlightened path to anyons and quantum computation — "Fractional" particles on a film of light
- Hidden symmetry could be key to more robust quantum systems, researchers find — Entangled particles protected from noise
- Towards table-top quantum simulation of vacuum decay — Tuning the nature of a quantum phase transition by shaking
- Mutating Quantum Particles Set in Motion — Particles switching character by hopping across a domain wall
Featured Publications
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Density-Matrix Renormalization Group for Continuous Quantum Systems
Phys. Rev. Lett. 128, 230401 (2022) -
Realizing discontinuous quantum phase transitions in a strongly-correlated driven optical lattice
Nat. Phys. 18, 259 (2022) -
Long-Range Coherence and Multiple Steady States in a Lossy Qubit Array
Phys. Rev. Lett. 125, 240404 (2020) -
Critical Response of a Quantum van der Pol Oscillator
Phys. Rev. Lett. 123, 250401 (2019) -
Coherent generation of photonic fractional quantum Hall states in a cavity and the search for anyonic quasiparticles
Phys. Rev. A 97, 033825 (2018) -
Collective Modes of a Soliton Train in a Fermi Superfluid
Phys. Rev. Lett. 118, 260402 (2017)