Plenary speaker - Dr. Marco Lanzagorta

Abstract

One of the major scientific thrusts from recent years has been to try to harness quantum phenomena to dramatically increase the performance of a wide variety of classical information processing devices. These advances in quantum information science have had a considerable impact on the development of standoff sensors such as quantum radar. In this talk we will briefly describe recent theoretical research that suggests that by harnessing quantum phenomena we can improve standoff electromagnetic sensing using quantum radar. Indeed, quantum radar appears to be a feasible technology because of recent promising theoretical and experimental results regarding manipulation, entanglement, propagation, detection, and interferometry of quantum states. At the same time, many theoretical and experimental questions remain open (e.g., fast and efficient entanglement generation, single photon detectors, quantum signal processing, and quantum memories). Furthermore, it is important to notice that quantum radar is not intended to replace traditional radar systems, but to work together in order to leverage the benefits of both. Clearly, quantum radar appears to be a “high-risk / high-payoff” endeavor that deserves further scientific and engineering consideration, research, and discussion.