Ramanujan Auditorium

Quantum Mechanics and Classical Optics: New ways to combine classical and quantum methods

Thomas Konrad

University of KwaZulu-Natal

Quantum Mechanics and classical optics feature similar phenomena
such as superposition, interference and even entanglement. I learned this in
discussions at the IMSC and feel honoured to be given the opportunity to
present some of the ideas that developed consequently. Because of the
analogy, techniques from optics can be used in quantum mechanics and vice
versa. In this talk, I want to address three questions: What can we learn
from formulating optics in the language of quantum mechanics? Is it possible
to implement quantum algorithms by means of classical optics? Can we
simulate non-local entanglement with classical light combined with
non-linear optics?