About

Hadiseh Alaeian is an Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Physics and Astronomy at Purdue University, based in the West Lafayette campus. She holds a BS and MS from the University of Tehran, Iran, obtained in 2007 and 2009 respectively, and earned her PhD from Stanford University in 2015. Her research focuses on hybrid, scalable, and integrated photonic quantum technologies, with particular interest in theoretical and experimental investigations of interacting and correlated open quantum optical systems. She engineers light-matter interactions and employs highly excited Rydberg states to create large optical non-linearity, which is essential for developing various quantum technologies based on photons.

Research topics

• Quantum mechanics
• Physics
• Computer Science
• Statistical physics
• Theoretical physics
• Materials science
• Classical mechanics
• Electrical engineering
• Optics
• Optoelectronics
• Mathematics
• Atomic physics

Selected publications

• Collective Strong Coupling of Thermal Atoms to Integrated Microring Resonators

  ArXiv.org · 2026-04-27

  articleOpen access

  Strong coupling between atomic ensembles and high-quality optical cavities enables collective and nonlinear phenomena that are central to cavity quantum electrodynamics (cQED). Although many experiments have been performed on this topic, most of them have focused on cold atoms. Here, we experimentally demonstrate collective strong coupling between thermal rubidium (Rb) vapor and high-quality silicon nitride microring resonators (MRRs) on an integrated photonic chip. We observe cavity mode splitting, with a measured collective coupling strength of $g_N/2π\approx 1\,\mathrm{GHz}$ and a collective cooperativity of $C_N\approx2$ at $110\,^\circ\mathrm{C}$, indicating coherent energy exchange between the atomic ensemble and the cavity mode despite rapid decoherence in the thermal vapor system. We infer an average of $20$ atoms participating in the collective interaction, yielding a single-atom cooperativity of $C_0=0.1$ and approaching the single-atom strong-coupling regime. Our results establish the integrated thermal vapor MRR platform as a robust, compact, and scalable system for studying collective and nonlinear phenomena in cQED.

  PublisherOA PDF

• Collective Strong Coupling of Thermal Atoms to Integrated Microring Resonators

  arXiv (Cornell University) · 2026-04-27

  preprintOpen access

  Strong coupling between atomic ensembles and high-quality optical cavities enables collective and nonlinear phenomena that are central to cavity quantum electrodynamics (cQED). Although many experiments have been performed on this topic, most of them have focused on cold atoms. Here, we experimentally demonstrate collective strong coupling between thermal rubidium (Rb) vapor and high-quality silicon nitride microring resonators (MRRs) on an integrated photonic chip. We observe cavity mode splitting, with a measured collective coupling strength of $g_N/2π\approx 1\,\mathrm{GHz}$ and a collective cooperativity of $C_N\approx2$ at $110\,^\circ\mathrm{C}$, indicating coherent energy exchange between the atomic ensemble and the cavity mode despite rapid decoherence in the thermal vapor system. We infer an average of $20$ atoms participating in the collective interaction, yielding a single-atom cooperativity of $C_0=0.1$ and approaching the single-atom strong-coupling regime. Our results establish the integrated thermal vapor MRR platform as a robust, compact, and scalable system for studying collective and nonlinear phenomena in cQED.

  PublisherDOI

• Anticipating decoherence in quantum systems

  Nature Communications · 2026-05-18

  articleOpen access

  Large-scale quantum technologies require coherence across distant nodes, necessitating indistinguishable quantum states. However, environmental disorder, including dephasing, spectral diffusion, and spin-bath interactions, undermines coherence. Using statistical methods, we uncover correlations in decoherence channels induced by slowly varying environments. Spectral diffusion serves as a representative demonstration case that can be extended to other remote, disordered systems such as spins in nitrogen-vacancy centers and quantum-dot spin qubits, as well as flux noise in superconducting qubits. In this work, we employ replica-theory-inspired trajectory analysis to reveal predictable temporal structures in decoherence dynamics, and validate these through an anticipatory systems framework with internal prediction of unseen spectral dynamics in multiple quantum systems, showing that this framework could, if implemented, reduce spectral shift by average factors of approximately 2 to 19, depending on emitter stability, thereby enabling enhanced coherence and multi-node synchronization for scalable quantum communication, computation, imaging, and sensing. Decoherence is a central obstacle to scalable quantum technologies across diverse physical platforms. Here the authors develop an anticipatory framework for real-time evolution of decoherence in quantum systems, demonstrating its internal-prediction component using machine learning, and apply it to the problem of spectral diffusion in solid-state quantum emitters.

  PublisherDOI

• Phase transitions in the open Dicke model: A degenerate-perturbation-theory approach

  Physical review. A/Physical review, A · 2025-11-20

  article

  We study the steady-state behavior of the open Dicke model, which describes the collective interaction of $N$ spin-$1/2$ particles with a lossy, quantized cavity mode and exhibits a superradiant phase transition above a critical light-matter coupling. While the standard model conserves total spin, Kirton and Keeling [Phys. Rev. Lett. 118, 123602 (2017)] demonstrated that even infinitesimal homogeneous local dephasing destroys this phase transition and that local atomic decay can restore it. We analyze this interplay using degenerate perturbation theory across subspaces of fixed total spin, $S$. For coupling strengths above the threshold, there exists a critical spin value ${S}_{c}$ such that the superradiant phase transition occurs only for $S>{S}_{c}$. The perturbative approach captures how weak dephasing and decay induce mixing between different $S$ subspaces, yielding a steady-state spin distribution whose width scales as $1/\sqrt{N}$. This framework requires only the first and second moments and can be implemented via different methods that can yield these two moments (for example, the second-cumulant approach), circumventing the need for full density matrix calculations. These results bridge the quantum Rabi model and Dicke physics, elucidate the roles of dephasing and decay in collective quantum effects, and apply broadly to open quantum systems with degenerate steady states.

  PublisherDOI

• Anticipating Decoherence: a Predictive Framework for Enhancing Coherence in Quantum Emitters

  Research Square · 2025-09-26

  preprintOpen access
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Attosecond Control of Squeezed Light

  arXiv (Cornell University) · 2025-12-18

  preprintOpen access

  Squeezed light has revolutionized quantum metrology by enhancing interferometry for sensitive applications such as the detection of gravitational waves. Squeezed light has also played a pivotal role in quantum information science with numerous applications in quantum computing and communication. Previously, squeezed light has been primarily generated using nonlinear optical interactions, where control of the degree of squeezing was possible by tuning the nonlinearity of the generating medium using suitable material engineering. Here, we modulate the third-order nonlinear response in dielectrics with strong ultrafast laser fields to control the degree of squeezing on attosecond time scales. We demonstrate the ability to change the ultrafast squeezed light generated in the nonlinear process from amplitude-squeezed to phase-squeezed by controlling the strong-field-driven nonlinear response of the material through a sub-cycle phase delay between the input femtosecond laser pulses. The squeezing of quantum noise is measured using a frequency-resolved balanced homodyne detection scheme capable of extracting the field quadratures in different frequency modes simultaneously. Using this frequency-resolved measurement we extract the complete coherency matrix containing the quantum correlations between field quadratures across different frequency modes of the femtosecond squeezed light pulse. These results have major implications for the development of quantum light sources with unprecedented levels of control over quadrature squeezing, for applications in multimode quantum information processing, and for measuring transient quantum matter correlations via transduction to quantum field correlations in an ultrafast light-matter interaction.

  PublisherDOI

• Engineering nonlinear activation functions for all-optical neural networks via quantum interference

  Optics Express · 2025-10-24 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access

  All-optical neural networks (AONNs) promise transformative gains in speed and energy efficiency for artificial intelligence (AI) by leveraging light's intrinsic parallelism and wave nature. However, their scalability has been fundamentally limited by the high power requirements of conventional nonlinear optical elements. Here, we present a low-power nonlinear activation scheme based on a three-level quantum system driven by dual laser fields. This platform introduces a two-channel nonlinear activation matrix with self- and cross-nonlinearities, enabling true multi-input, multi-output optical processing. The system supports tunable activation behaviors, including sigmoid and ReLU functions, at ultralow power levels (17 μ W per neuron). We validate our approach through theoretical modeling and experimental demonstration in rubidium vapor cells, showing the feasibility of scaling to deep AONNs with millions of neurons operating under 20 W of total optical power. Crucially, we demonstrate the all-optical generation of gradient-like signals with backpropagation, paving the way for all-optical training. These results mark a significant advance toward scalable, high-speed, and energy-efficient optical AI hardware.

  PublisherDOI

• Cooperative Effects in Thin Dielectric Layers: Long-Range Dicke Superradiance

  ArXiv.org · 2025-01-24

  preprintOpen accessSenior author

  The realization and control of collective effects in quantum emitter ensembles have predominantly focused on small, ordered systems, leaving their extension to larger, more complex configurations as a significant challenge. Quantum photonic platforms, with their engineered Green's functions and integration of advanced solid-state quantum emitters, provide opportunities to explore new regimes of light-matter interaction beyond the scope of atomic systems. In this study, we examine the interaction of quantum emitters embedded within a thin dielectric layer. Our results reveal that the guided optical modes of the dielectric layer mediate extended-range interactions between emitters, enabling both total and directional superradiance in arrays spanning several wavelengths. Additionally, the extended interaction range facilitated by the dielectric layer supports Dicke superradiance in regimes where collective effects cannot be obtained in a homogeneous environment. This work uncovers a distinctive interplay between environmental dimensionality and collective quantum dynamics, paving the way for exploring novel many-body quantum optical phenomena in engineered photonic environments.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Single-photon generation: materials, techniques, and the Rydberg exciton frontier [Invited]

  Optical Materials Express · 2025-02-24 · 4 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Due to their quantum nature, single-photon emitters (SPE) generate individual photons in bursts or streams. They are paramount in emerging quantum technologies such as quantum key distribution, quantum repeaters, and measurement-based quantum computing. Many such systems have been reported in the last three decades, from rubidium atoms coupled to cavities to semiconductor quantum dots and color centers implanted in waveguides. This review article highlights different solid-state and atomic systems with on-demand and controlled single-photon generation. We discuss and compare the performance metrics, such as purity and indistinguishability, for these sources and evaluate their potential for different applications. Finally, a new potential single-photon source, based on the Rydberg exciton in solid-state metal oxide thin films, is introduced, where we discuss its promising features and unique advantages in fabricating quantum chips for quantum photonic applications.

  PublisherDOI

• Unveiling Exciton-Phonon Interactions in Polycrystalline Cu2O Thin Films via Multidimensional Coherent Spectroscopy

  2025-01-01

  article

  Using Multidimensional Coherent Spectroscopy (MDCS), we study exciton-phonon interactions and energy relaxation in polycrystalline Cu 2 O thin films, revealing inhomogeneous broadening, exciton trapping, and relaxation pathways crucial for optimizing excitonic transport in optoelectronics.

  PublisherDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Jennifer A. Dionne

  Stanford University

  26 shared

• Tilman Pfau

  25 shared

• Robert Löw

  Atom Computing (United States)

  15 shared

• Harald Kübler

  University of Stuttgart

  14 shared

• Aitzol García‐Etxarri

  Donostia International Physics Center

  11 shared

• Annika Belz

  10 shared

• Felix Moumtsilis

  Center for Integrated Quantum Science and Technology

  10 shared

• Florian Christaller

  Quantum (Australia)

  10 shared