Outline

Overview

Modern nanofabrication and characterisation techniques now allow us to build devices that exhibit controllable quantum features and phenomena. We can now demonstrate the thought experiments posed by the founders of quantum mechanics a century ago, as well as explore the newest breakthroughs in quantum theory. We can also develop new quantum technologies, such as quantum computers. This unit will investigate the latest research results in quantum nanoscience across a variety of platforms. You will be introduced to the latest research papers in the field, published in high-impact journals, and gain an appreciation and understanding of the diverse scientific elements that come together in this research area, including materials, nanofabrication, characterisation, and fundamental theory. You will learn to assess an experiment's demonstration of phenomena in quantum nanoscience, such as quantum coherence and entanglement, mesoscopic transport, exotic topological properties, etc. You will acquire the ability to approach a modern research paper in physics, and to critically analyse the results in the context of the wider scientific community. By doing this unit you will develop the capacity to undertake research, experimental and/or theoretical, in quantum nanoscience.

Unit details and rules

Academic unit	Physics Academic Operations
Credit points	6
Prerequisites ?	An average of at least 65 in 144 cp of units
Corequisites ?	None
Prohibitions ?	None
Assumed knowledge ?	A major in physics including third-year quantum physics and third-year condensed matter physics
Available to study abroad and exchange students	Yes

Teaching staff

Coordinator	Bruce Yabsley, bruce.yabsley@sydney.edu.au
Guest lecturer(s)	Maja Cassidy, maja.cassidy@sydney.edu.au
	Tingrei Tan, tingrei.tan@sydney.edu.au
	Raditya Bomantara, raditya.bomantara@sydney.edu.au
	Kun Zuo, kun.zuo@sydney.edu.au
Lecturer(s)	John Bartholomew, john.bartholomew@sydney.edu.au

Type	Description	Weight	Due	Length
Final exam (Take-home short release)	Final exam Final exam	40%	Formal exam period	3 hours
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Essay Essay	40%	STUVAC	1000 words
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Assignment 1 Written assignment of worked computational problems.	5%	Week 04	Approximately 3 hours
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Assignment 2 Written assignment of worked computational problems.	5%	Week 07	Approximately 3 hours
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Assignment 3 Written assignment of worked computational problems.	5%	Week 10	Approximately 3 hours
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Assignment 4 Written assignment of worked computational problems.	5%	Week 12	Approximately 3 hours
Outcomes assessed:
= Type D final exam ?

Assessment summary

Assignment 1: This assignment will test your understanding of material covered in module 1 (Weeks 1-3: Superconducting quantized circuits)
Assignment 2: This assignment will test your understanding of material covered in module 2 (Weeks 4-6: Spins in solids)
Assignment 3: This assignment will test your understanding of material covered in module 3 (Weeks 8-9: Trapped ions)
Assignment 4: This assignment will test your understanding of material covered in module 4 (Weeks 10-11: Topological materials and Majorana edge modes)
Essay: You will display critical understanding of a research paper by writing an essay discussing it, in the style of a “Perspectives” article.
Final exam: This will consist of a series of short-answer questions and short worked problems, related to the research papers covered in the course

Assessment criteria

Result Name	Mark Range	Description
High Distinction	85-100	At HD level, a student demonstrates a flair for the subject as well as a detailed and comprehensive understanding of the unit material. A ‘High Distinction’ reflects exceptional achievement and is awarded to a student who demonstrates the ability to apply their subject knowledge and understanding to produce original solutions for novel or highly complex problems and/or comprehensive critical discussions of theoretical concepts.
Distinction	75-84	At DI level, a student demonstrates an aptitude for the subject and a well-developed understanding of the unit material. A ‘Distinction’ reflects excellent achievement and is awarded to a student who demonstrates an ability to apply their subject knowledge and understanding of the subject to produce good solutions for challenging problems and/or a reasonably well-developed critical analysis of theoretical concepts.
Credit	65-74	At CR level, a student demonstrates a good command and knowledge of the unit material. A ‘Credit’ reflects solid achievement and is awarded to a student who has a broad general understanding of the unit material and can solve routine problems and/or identify and superficially discuss theoretical concepts.
Pass	50-64	At PS level, a student demonstrates proficiency in the unit material. A ‘Pass’ reflects satisfactory achievement and is awarded to a student who has threshold knowledge.
Fail	0-49	When you don’t meet the learning outcomes of the unit to a satisfactory standard.

For more information see guide to grades.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

Academic integrity

The Current Student website provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. The University expects students and staff to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.

We use similarity detection software to detect potential instances of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breach. If such matches indicate evidence of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breaches, your teacher is required to report your work for further investigation.

Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and automated writing tools

You may only use generative AI and automated writing tools in assessment tasks if you are permitted to by your unit coordinator. If you do use these tools, you must acknowledge this in your work, either in a footnote or an acknowledgement section. The assessment instructions or unit outline will give guidance of the types of tools that are permitted and how the tools should be used.

Your final submitted work must be your own, original work. You must acknowledge any use of generative AI tools that have been used in the assessment, and any material that forms part of your submission must be appropriately referenced. For guidance on how to acknowledge the use of AI, please refer to the AI in Education Canvas site.

The unapproved use of these tools or unacknowledged use will be considered a breach of the Academic Integrity Policy and penalties may apply.

Studiosity is permitted unless otherwise indicated by the unit coordinator. The use of this service must be acknowledged in your submission as detailed on the Learning Hub’s Canvas page.

Outside assessment tasks, generative AI tools may be used to support your learning. The AI in Education Canvas site contains a number of productive ways that students are using AI to improve their learning.

Learning support

Simple extensions

If you encounter a problem submitting your work on time, you may be able to apply for an extension of five calendar days through a simple extension.  The application process will be different depending on the type of assessment and extensions cannot be granted for some assessment types like exams.

Special consideration

If exceptional circumstances mean you can’t complete an assessment, you need consideration for a longer period of time, or if you have essential commitments which impact your performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Special consideration applications will not be affected by a simple extension application.

Using AI responsibly

Co-created with students, AI in Education includes lots of helpful examples of how students use generative AI tools to support their learning. It explains how generative AI works, the different tools available and how to use them responsibly and productively.

Weekly schedule

WK	Topic	Learning activity
Week 01	(Weeks 1 - 3) Superconducting quantized circuits: The theoretical description and experimental observation of strong, dispersive coupling between an artificial superconducting atom and a microwave cavity; Jaynes-Cummings model and its dispersive limit; experimental signatures of strong, dispersive coupling.	Lecture (9 hr)
Week 04	(Weeks 4 - 6) Spins in solids: Coherent manipulation and readout of optically addressable spins in photonic resonators; theoretical description and experimental observation of exchange interactions between spins; fabrication methods and experimental challenges; impact of inhomogeneity and spectral diffusion; spin (Hahn) echo techniques and NMR techniques as applied to a single spin; spin ensemble quantum technology.	Lecture (9 hr)
Week 08	(Weeks 8 - 9) Trapped ions: ion trapping in Paul and Penning traps; chip traps with integrated optics; laser cooling; light matter interaction, Jaynes-Cummings model to the description of an ion in a harmonic trap; entangling gate operations; quantum logic spectroscopy (optical clocks); quantum simulation examples analog and digital; quantum error correction example (basic demonstration of color code).	Lecture (4 hr)
Week 10	(Weeks 10 - 11) Topological materials and Majorana edge modes: Exotic ‘anyonic’ excitations in low-dimensional topological materials; Kitaev’s model describing Majorana-type fractionalised gapless edge degrees of freedom in a spinless fermion model with Cooper-pair coupling; details of how such a model may be realised within a semiconductor nanowire neighbouring a superconductor.	Lecture (4 hr)
Week 12	(Week 12) Seminars on modern quantum nanoscience papers by HDR students.	Seminar (3 hr)
Week 13	(Week 13) Revision of first four modules.	Lecture (3 hr)

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 6 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 120-150 hours of student effort in total.

Required readings

D. I. Schuster et al., “Resolving photon number states in a superconducting circuit”, Nature, 445, 515–518 (2010). Primary resource for the “Superconducting quantized circuits” module.
R. E. Evans et al., “Photon-mediated interactions between quantum emitters in a diamond nanocavity”, Science, 362, 662–665 (2018). Primary resource for the “Spins in solids” module.
P. Schindler et al., “A quantum information processor with trapped ions,” New Journal of Physics 15, 123012 (2013). Useful resource for the “Trapped ions” module.
R. M. Lutchyn et al., “Majorana zero modes in superconductor-semiconductor heterostructures”, Nature Reviews Materials 3, 52 (2018). Useful resource for the “Topological materials and Majorana edge modes” module.

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University's graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

Outcomes
Graduate qualities

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

LO1. Demonstrate the background and skills needed to approach modern quantum nanoscience papers in leading research journals.
LO2. Investigate the diverse scientific elements that come together in modern quantum nanoscience research, including materials, nanofabrication, characterisation, and fundamental theory.
LO3. Analyse an experiment's demonstration of phenomena in quantum nanoscience, such as quantum coherence and entanglement, mesoscopic transport, exotic topological properties etc.
LO4. Critically analyse a modern research paper in nanoscience in the context of the wider research field and demonstrate the ability to find and analyse information in the research literature and judge its significance.
LO5. Develop a sense of responsibility, ethical behaviour and independence as a learner and as a scientist.

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1	Depth of disciplinary expertise Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.
GQ2	Critical thinking and problem solving Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.
GQ3	Oral and written communication Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.
GQ4	Information and digital literacy Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.
GQ5	Inventiveness Generating novel ideas and solutions.
GQ6	Cultural competence Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.
GQ7	Interdisciplinary effectiveness Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.
GQ8	Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.
GQ9	Influence Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes	Graduate qualities
Learning outcomes

Responding to student feedback

This section outlines changes made to this unit following staff and student reviews.

Changes to type and weight of in-semester assignments following the experience of the first year the unit was offered.

Additional information

Disclaimer

The University reserves the right to amend units of study or no longer offer certain units, including where there are low enrolment numbers.

To help you understand common terms that we use at the University, we offer an online glossary.

Current students

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Additional information

Additional information

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect

Current students

PHYS4126: Quantum Nanoscience

Semester 2, 2021 [Normal day] - Remote

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Additional information

Additional information

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect