Chetan Nayak

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Chetan Nayak is an American physicist and distinguished professor known for his contributions to the field of condensed matter physics and quantum computing.[1] He is currently a Technical Fellow at Microsoft and holds a professorship in physics at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB).[2][3]

Nayak's research topics include topological phases of matter, high-temperature superconductivity, quantum Hall effect, and periodically driven quantum systems.[2][4]

Early life and education[edit]

Nayak was born and raised in New York City. He attended Stuyvesant High School, graduating in 1988. In his senior year, he won 1st place in the national Westinghouse Science Talent Search. He then pursued his undergraduate studies at Harvard University, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1992.[2][5]

He obtained his Ph.D. at Princeton University in 1996. Following his doctoral studies, he completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the Institute for Theoretical Physics at UCSB.[6]

Career[edit]

Nayak served as a professor of physics at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) from 1997 to 2006 before joining UCSB as a professor of physics in 2007. Additionally, he was a visiting professor at Nihon University in Japan in 2002.[7]

In 2005, Nayak transitioned to a role at Microsoft.[2][8]

In 2014, he became the principal research manager of Microsoft Station Q, a research lab focused on quantum computing and condensed matter physics.[9][10]

In 2018, he assumed leadership of the quantum hardware division of Microsoft's quantum program. He was named a Technical Fellow in 2023.[11][12]

Research[edit]

Nayak has conducted pioneering research on topological phases of matter, which has laid the groundwork for the development of fault-tolerant quantum computation.[13] In collaboration with physicist Frank Wilczek in 1996, Nayak discovered the non-Abelian statistics associated with Majorana zero modes, a fundamental concept crucial for Microsoft's quantum computer architecture.[14]

In 2000, along with Sudip Chakravarty, Bob Laughlin, and Dirk Morr, he proposed the concept of hidden order in high-temperature superconductors.[15]

In 2005, Nayak, along with Michael Freedman and Sankar Das Sarma, initiated efforts to build a topological quantum computer utilizing the 5/2 fractional quantum Hall state.[16]

Nayak's research interests also extend to high-temperature superconductivity, 'strange metals,' the effects of impurities on electronic behavior, and phases of periodically driven quantum systems. In 2008, he authored a seminal article surveying the field of topological quantum computing.[17][18]

In 2016, Nayak, along with Dominic Else and Bela Bauer, revived the concept of "time crystals" and predicted their occurrence in periodically driven systems. This prediction was experimentally verified shortly thereafter.[19]

Recognition and awards[edit]

Nayak is a Fellow of the American Physical Society and has received the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Fellowship, the National Science Foundation Early Career Award, and the Outstanding Young Physicist Award from the American Chapter of the Indian Physics Association.[20][21][22]

Selected publications[edit]

  • Nayak, Chetan; Simon, Steven H.; Stern, Ady; Freedman, Michael; Das Sarma, Sankar (12 September 2008). "Non-Abelian anyons and topological quantum computation". Reviews of Modern Physics. 80 (3): 1083–1159. arXiv:0707.1889. doi:10.1103/RevModPhys.80.1083. ISSN 0034-6861.
  • Chakravarty, Sudip; Laughlin, R. B.; Morr, Dirk K.; Nayak, Chetan (30 January 2001). "Hidden order in the cuprates". Physical Review B. 63 (9): 094503. arXiv:cond-mat/0005443. doi:10.1103/PhysRevB.63.094503. ISSN 0163-1829.
  • Sarma, Sankar Das; Freedman, Michael; Nayak, Chetan (27 October 2015). "Majorana zero modes and topological quantum computation". npj Quantum Information. 1 (1): 1–13. arXiv:1501.02813. doi:10.1038/npjqi.2015.1. ISSN 2056-6387.
  • Else, Dominic V.; Bauer, Bela; Nayak, Chetan (25 August 2016). "Floquet Time Crystals". Physical Review Letters. 117 (9): 090402. arXiv:1603.08001. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.117.090402. ISSN 0031-9007.
  • Das Sarma, Sankar; Freedman, Michael; Nayak, Chetan (27 April 2005). "Topologically Protected Qubits from a Possible Non-Abelian Fractional Quantum Hall State". Physical Review Letters. 94 (16): 166802. arXiv:cond-mat/0412343. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.94.166802. ISSN 0031-9007.
  • Nayak, Chetan; Wilczek, Frank (18 November 1996). "2n-quasihole states realize 2n−1-dimensional spinor braiding statistics in paired quantum Hall states". Nuclear Physics B. 479 (3): 529–553. arXiv:cond-mat/9605145. doi:10.1016/0550-3213(96)00430-0. ISSN 0550-3213.
  • Karzig, Torsten; Knapp, Christina; Lutchyn, Roman M.; Bonderson, Parsa; Hastings, Matthew B.; Nayak, Chetan; Alicea, Jason; Flensberg, Karsten; Plugge, Stephan; Oreg, Yuval; Marcus, Charles M.; Freedman, Michael H. (21 June 2017). "Scalable designs for quasiparticle-poisoning-protected topological quantum computation with Majorana zero modes". Physical Review B. 95 (23): 235305. arXiv:1610.05289. doi:10.1103/PhysRevB.95.235305. ISSN 2469-9950.
  • Bauer, Bela; Nayak, Chetan (17 September 2013). "Area laws in a many-body localized state and its implications for topological order". Journal of Statistical Mechanics: Theory and Experiment. 2013 (09): P09005. arXiv:1306.5753. doi:10.1088/1742-5468/2013/09/P09005.
  • Mong, Roger S. K.; Clarke, David J.; Alicea, Jason; Lindner, Netanel H.; Fendley, Paul; Nayak, Chetan; Oreg, Yuval; Stern, Ady; Berg, Erez; Shtengel, Kirill; Fisher, Matthew P. A. (12 March 2014). "Universal Topological Quantum Computation from a Superconductor-Abelian Quantum Hall Heterostructure". Physical Review X. 4 (1): 011036. arXiv:1307.4403. doi:10.1103/PhysRevX.4.011036. ISSN 2160-3308.
  • Else, Dominic V.; Bauer, Bela; Nayak, Chetan (7 March 2017). "Prethermal Phases of Matter Protected by Time-Translation Symmetry". Physical Review X. 7 (1): 011026. arXiv:1607.05277. doi:10.1103/PhysRevX.7.011026. ISSN 2160-3308.
  • Nayak, Chetan (21 June 2023). "InAs-Al Hybrid Devices Passing the Topological Gap Protocol". Physical Review B. 107 (24): 245423. arXiv:2207.02472. doi:10.1103/PhysRevB.107.245423. ISSN 2469-9950.

References[edit]

  1. ^ Markoff, John (23 June 2014). "Microsoft Makes Bet Quantum Computing Is Next Breakthrough". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 19 November 2023. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d "Dr. Chetan Nayak at Microsoft Research". Microsoft Research. Archived from the original on 2023-09-08. Retrieved 2024-04-25.
  3. ^ "Microsoft's Quantum Research Project Headed by Mathematician Takes up Temporary Residence at KITP | KITP". Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics. Archived from the original on 2024-04-25. Retrieved 2024-04-25.
  4. ^ "Microsoft Quantum Computing Executive Sees Progress After Lagging Rivals". The Information (website). Archived from the original on 2023-06-09. Retrieved 2024-04-25.
  5. ^ "Chetan Nayak - Quantum Industry Showcase - UCSB NSF Quantum Foundry California NanoSystems Institute". University of California, Santa Barbara. Archived from the original on 2024-04-18. Retrieved 2024-04-25.
  6. ^ "Chetan Nayak - Department of Physics | UC Santa Barbara". www.physics.ucsb.edu. Archived from the original on 2023-01-27. Retrieved 2024-04-25.
  7. ^ "Joint Q-FARM & CMP: Welcomes Chetan Nayak (Microsoft) | QFARM". qfarm.stanford.edu. 24 April 2024. Archived from the original on 25 April 2024. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
  8. ^ "The Quantum Phantom". American Association for the Advancement of Science. Archived from the original on 2024-04-07. Retrieved 2024-04-25.
  9. ^ "Two from College Named 2015 Highly Cited Researchers". University of Maryland, College Park. 24 April 2024. Archived from the original on 25 April 2024. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
  10. ^ "Chicago Quantum Exchange announces seven new partnerships to advance research, training | University of Chicago News". University of Chicago. 7 July 2020. Archived from the original on 27 September 2023. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
  11. ^ "A Deeper Dive Into Microsoft's Topological Quantum Computer Roadmap". Quantum Computing Report. 21 September 2023. Archived from the original on 4 December 2023. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
  12. ^ Mackie, Kurt. "Microsoft Touts Continued DARPA Quantum Computing Funding -- Redmondmag.com". Redmondmag. Archived from the original on 2024-04-25. Retrieved 2024-04-25.
  13. ^ "Microsoft says its weird new particle could improve quantum computers". New Scientist. Archived from the original on 2024-04-25. Retrieved 2024-04-25.
  14. ^ "Chetan Nayak". Society for Science. Archived from the original on 2023-09-30. Retrieved 2024-04-25.
  15. ^ "DARPA Backs Microsoft's Quantum Development: Utility-Scale Quantum Computer Development Continues". Quantum Zeitgeist. 9 February 2024. Archived from the original on 9 February 2024. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
  16. ^ "In a historic milestone, Azure Quantum demonstrates formerly elusive physics needed to build scalable topological qubits". Microsoft. Archived from the original on 2024-04-06. Retrieved 2024-04-25.
  17. ^ "Chetan Nayak's seminar, Fall 2000". www.physics.umd.edu. Archived from the original on 2017-08-11. Retrieved 2024-04-25.
  18. ^ "SudipFest". conferences.pa.ucla.edu. Archived from the original on 2022-06-30. Retrieved 2024-04-25.
  19. ^ Else, Dominic V.; Bauer, Bela; Nayak, Chetan (26 August 2016). "Floquet Time Crystals". Physical Review Letters. p. 090402. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.117.090402. Archived from the original on 11 April 2024. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
  20. ^ "2 in Manhattan School Are Top Science Winners". The New York Times. 1 March 1988. Archived from the original on 6 March 2023. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
  21. ^ "New type of quasiparticle emerges to tame quantum computing errors". Physics World. 22 May 2023. Archived from the original on 21 September 2023. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
  22. ^ "Time crystals in periodically driven systems". Physics Today. Archived from the original on 2024-04-21. Retrieved 2024-04-25.
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