| Summary: | A major challenge in the field of condensed matter physics is to harness the quantum mechanical properties of atomic systems coupled to large environments. Thermal fluctuations destroy quantum information and obstruct the development of quantum technologies such as quantum computers and memory devices. Recent advances in quantum control enable the manipulation of complex quantum states, providing new paths to preserve quantum information and to employ the environment as a resource. In this dissertation, we develop practical quantum control protocols which quickly and efficiently transfer energy to/from an environment. A major contribution of this work is the design of powerful and efficient quantum engines and refrigerators, which use the environment either to generate useful work or to freeze a system to its ground state. In achieving its core objectives, this work has also expanded on several areas of condensed matter quantum physics, including (i) the characterization of special classes of entangled system-environment states, (ii) the discovery of novel quantum chaotic phases of matter, (iii) the design of control schemes which speed-up efficient adiabatic protocols, and (iv) the development of experimentally viable control schemes in trapped ion systems, semiconductors, and nano-diamonds.
|
|---|
