QMSI Seminar: Dr. Shai Tsesses, MIT-Harvard Center for Ultracold Atoms

Quantum optics with Rydberg atoms and free electrons 

Quantum optics with atoms has been instrumental to a plethora of fundamental discoveries, including laser cooling, cavity quantum electrodynamics and electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT). While atomic quantum optics is based on addressing electrons bound to the atomic nucleus, one can also address freely propagating electrons, such as electron beams in an electron microscope. Free electron quantum optics is currently a growing field of research following in its predecessor’s footsteps, encompassing the interaction of single electrons and photons, as well as the effects of light on the free electron wavefunction.

In my talk, I will first focus on quantum optics experiments performed at the Technion–Israel Institute of Technology, where our team reached the strongest free-electron light coupling ever observed; and then shift to experiments at MIT utilizing the Rydberg EIT mechanism, where our team was the first to exert full control over the interaction between a Rydberg atom and a photon going through a nearby ensemble. I will end by explaining the framework by which one can fuse together atomic and free-electron quantum optics and discuss the exciting future directions therein. 

Speakers

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  Shai Tsesses

  Postdoctoral Research Associate
  MIT-Harvard Center for Ultracold Atoms

  Dr. Shai Tsesses is a postdoctoral associate at the MIT–Harvard Center for Ultracold Atoms, working with Prof. Vladan Vuletić. At MIT, he is leading a team developing the next generation of neutral atom quantum processors, able to implement deep and high-fidelity quantum circuits. Dr. Tsesses earned his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the Technion–Israel Institute of Technology, where he made key experimental contributions to topological and quantum nano-photonics, as well as free-electron–light interactions. His research explores the frontiers of light–matter interaction, bridging atomic physics, electron beam physics, and quantum information science. He has authored more than 30 publications in leading journals such as Science, Nature, and Nature Materials, and is a recipient of numerous fellowships and awards, including the Rothschild and Adams Fellowships, as well as the OPTICA Tingye Li Innovation Prize.