Recently, condensed matter and atomic experiments have reached a length-scale and temperature regime where new quantum collective phenomena emerge. Finding such physics in systems of photons, however, is problematic, as photons typically do not interact with each other and can be created or destroyed at will. Here, we introduce a physical system of photons that exhibits strongly correlated dynamics on a meso-scale. By adding photons to a two-dimensional array of coupled optical cavities each containing a single two-level atom in the photon-blockade regime, we form dressed states, or polaritons, that are both long-lived and strongly interacting. Our zero temperature results predict that this photonic system will undergo a characteristic Mott insulator (excitations localised on each site) to superfluid (excitations delocalised across the lattice) quantum phase transition. Each cavity's impressive photon out-coupling potential may lead to actual devices based on these quantum manybody effects, as well as observable, tunable quantum simulators.The Jaynes-Cummings [1] model is arguably the most important model for understanding light-matter interactions. It describes the interaction of a single, quasiresonant optical cavity field with a two-level atom. The coupling between the atom and the photons leads to optical nonlinearities and an effective photon-photon repulsion. Perhaps the most extreme demonstration of this photonic repulsion is photon blockade, demonstrated recently by Birnbaum et al. [2], where photonic repulsion prevents more than one photon from being in the cavity at any one time. Photon blockade was initially theoretically described with a four-state system [3], with multiplication of the weak Kerr nonlinearity effected by placing a large number of atoms within each cavity. However, it was quickly realised that the photonic blockade mechanism does not persist in the limit of many atoms [4], rapidly degrading as the number of atoms per cavity is increased [5]. Later Rebic et al. showed that the nonlinear interaction afforded by placing a single two-level atom inside a cavity would suffice for realising photon blockade [6]. This observation was highly significant as it allowed the full weight of the Jaynes-Cummings model to be used to attack and understand this problem.To create an atom-photon system whose dynamics mirror those traditionally associated with strongly interacting condensed matter systems, we consider a twodimensional array of photonic bandgap cavities. Each cavity contains a single two-level atom, quasi-resonant with the cavity mode. Evanescent coupling between the cavities due to their proximity allows inter-cavity photon hopping. This configuration is depicted schematically in Fig. 1(a), where we have explicitly chosen three nearest neighbours per cavity (coordination number z = 3), for reasons explained below. Because we are considering small cavities, with volumes of order λ 3 where λ is the wavelength of the light, there will be strong atom-photon couplings that will dominate over the...

Although silicon is a promising material for quantum computation, the degeneracy of the conduction band minima (valleys) must be lifted with a splitting sufficient to ensure the formation of well-defined and long-lived spin qubits. Here we demonstrate that valley separation can be accurately tuned via electrostatic gate control in a metal-oxidesemiconductor quantum dot, providing splittings spanning 0.3-0.8 meV. The splitting varies linearly with applied electric field, with a ratio in agreement with atomistic tight-binding predictions. We demonstrate single-shot spin read-out and measure the spin relaxation for different valley configurations and dot occupancies, finding one-electron lifetimes exceeding 2 s. Spin relaxation occurs via phonon emission due to spin-orbit coupling between the valley states, a process not previously anticipated for silicon quantum dots. An analytical theory describes the magnetic field dependence of the relaxation rate, including the presence of a dramatic rate enhancement (or hot-spot) when Zeeman and valley splittings coincide.

Silicon has many attractive properties for quantum computing, and the quantum dot architecture is appealing because of its controllability and scalability. However, the multiple valleys in the silicon conduction band are potentially a serious source of decoherence for spin-based quantum dot qubits. Only when these valleys are split by a large energy does one obtain well-defined and long-lived spin states appropriate for quantum computing. Here we show that the small valley splittings observed in previous experiments on Si/SiGe heterostructures result from atomic steps at the quantum well interface. Lateral confinement in a quantum point contact limits the electron wavefunctions to several steps, and enhances the valley splitting substantially, up to 1.5 meV. The combination of electronic and magnetic confinement produces a valley splitting larger than the spin splitting, which is controllable over a wide range. These results improve the outlook for realizing spin qubits with long coherence times in silicon-based devices.The fundamental unit of quantum information is the qubit. Qubits can be constructed from the quantum states of physical objects like atomic ions [1], quantum dots [2,3,4,5,6,7] or superconducting Josephson junctions [8]. A key requirement is that these quantum states should be well-defined and isolated from their environment. An assemblage of many qubits into a register and the construction of a universal set of operations, including initialization, measurement, and single and multi-qubit gates, would enable a quantum computer to execute algorithms for certain difficult computational problems like prime factorization and database search far faster than any conventional computer [9].The solid state affords special benefits and challenges for qubit operation and quantum computation. State-ofthe-art fabrication techniques enable the positioning of electrostatic gates with a resolution of several nanometers, paving the way for large scale implementations. On the other hand, the solid state environment provides numerous pathways for decoherence to degrade the computation [10]. Spins in silicon offer a special resilience against decoherence because of two desirable materials properties [11,12]: a small spin-orbit coupling and predominately spin-zero nuclei. Isotopic purification could essentially eliminate all nuclear decoherence mechanisms.Silicon, however, also has a property that potentially can increase decoherence. Silicon has multiple conduction band minima or valleys at the same energy. Unless this degeneracy is lifted, coherence and qubit operation will be threatened. In strained silicon quantum wells there are two such degenerate valleys [13] whose quantum numbers and energy scales compete directly with the spin degrees of freedom. In principle, sharp confinement potentials, like the quantum well interfaces, couple these two valleys and lift the degeneracy, providing a unique ground state if the coupling is strong enough [14,15]. Theoretical analyses for noninteracting electrons in perfectly f...