Seeing the Invisible: Quantum Spectroscopy and Imaging with Photons We Never Detect

Speaker: Professor Alexander Solntsev and Dr Isa Ahmadalidokht, University of Technology Sydney
Date: Thursday 22 October 1pm – 2pm AEDT
Zoom: Click here to join the seminar

Abstract:
How can we learn about a sample using photons we never detect? Mid-infrared light can reveal the chemical fingerprints of proteins, lipids and other molecules, but detecting it well usually requires specialised equipment. Quantum optics offers a different route: pairs of photons can share strong quantum correlations, including entanglement, even when they have very different colours. Combined with quantum interference, this allows one photon to probe a sample in the mid-infrared while the information is read out using visible or near-infrared light. We will explain how this surprising idea works, trace the development of the field from quantum spectroscopy to imaging with undetected photons, and discuss our work at UTS towards making quantum mid-infrared imaging a compact and practical tool for biological research.

Bios:
Alexander Solntsev
Professor Alexander Solntsev is a Professor of Physics at the University of Technology Sydney and an Associate Investigator in QUBIC. His research spans quantum and nonlinear photonics, including entangled and multiphoton states, quantum spectroscopy, sensing and imaging. His current work explores how quantum photonics can enable new approaches to mid-infrared spectroscopy and imaging, with applications in biological sensing and research translation.

Isa Ahmadalidokht
Dr Isa Ahmadalidokht is a Research Fellow at the University of Technology Sydney specialising in experimental quantum photonics, quantum imaging and instrumentation. His current work in QUBIC focuses on mid-infrared spectroscopy and imaging with undetected photons, and on developing compact and robust systems for biological research. Before joining UTS, he was a Research Fellow at the Centre for Quantum Technologies at the National University of Singapore.