Merlin Christian

Atoms in a state of large principal quantum number (Rydberg states) exhibit some exaggerated properties that make them particularly appealing in the fields of quantum computing and sensing. I am working on using Rubidium-87 in Rydberg states inside of a microwave resonator tuned on resonance with a selected transition. Interactions with the cavity mode have a number of applications that I will explore. Mainly, I aim to build a tuneable room temperature MASER (Microwave Amplification through Stimulated Emission). I also aim to use this to create an ultrastrong coupling probe in the microwave regime, where effects such as ground state virtual photons, the diamagnetic interaction and polaritons become important and detectable.

Interesting fact: climbed a V10 boulder easily.