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Recent Submissions

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    Systems and Protocols for Quantum Sensing of the Magnetic Field Using Atom Arrays
    (University of Waterloo, 2026-09-14) Mashko, Anastasiia
    Quantum information science has enabled new approaches to simulation, computation, metrology, and sensing. As quantum devices scale to larger numbers of qubits and longer operating times, spatial inhomogeneities and temporal fluctuations and drifts become important limitations to coherent control, characterization, and device performance. Typical characterization techniques often rely on collective observables or require sequential measurements, making them difficult to capture the complete field distribution. This thesis demonstrates that atom-resolved neutral-atom arrays with periodic geometries enable a new class of quantum sensing protocols that exploit spatial information contained in site-resolved quantum measurements for simultaneous multiparameter estimation of global and spatially varying linear gradient magnetic fields. By combining coherent control, atom-resolved detection, and spatially resolved signal processing, the developed protocols transform a neutral-atom array from a collection of individual sensors into a spatially resolved quantum sensor array capable of in-situ characterization of the fields it interacts with. To realize this capability, this thesis first develops an experimental platform for preparation and observation of individual atoms trapped in two-dimensional arrays of over one thousand traps. The platform provides coherent quantum control, state preparation, and atom-resolved quantum state readout, establishing the essential capabilities required for spatially resolved quantum sensing. Building upon this system, we introduce and experimentally demonstrate phase-shear correlation spectroscopy, a protocol that exploits spatial correlations across the array to simultaneously estimate uniform magnetic fields and linear magnetic-field gradients from single experimental realizations. The protocol is further applied to perform single-shot multiparameter estimation, precision sensing of magnetic fields, active stabilization of magnetic fields through atomic feedback, and gradient estimation over interrogation times exceeding typical timescales limited by shot-to-shot fluctuations of magnetic field. The results establish neutral-atom arrays as spatially resolved quantum sensing platforms capable of characterizing and performing precision measurements of spatially and temporally varying fields, as well as actively stabilizing the global magnetic field in large quantum systems. The methods developed in this thesis are broadly applicable to other quantum systems, including quantum processors, quantum simulators, and other quantum sensing platforms. This thesis demonstrates that site-resolved neutral-atom arrays enable a new class of quantum sensing protocols in which the spatial structure of the quantum system is treated not as a source of inhomogeneity to be eliminated, but as a resource from which additional information can be extracted.
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    In silico spectral investigation of methemoglobin and sulfhemoglobin effects on human skin reflectance
    (University of Waterloo, 2012-06-04) Baranoski, Gladimir V. G.; Chen, Tenn F.; Kimmel, Bradley W.; Miranda, Erik; Yim, Daniel
    There are several pathologies whose study and diagnosis is impaired by a relatively small number of documented cases. A practical approach to overcome this obstacle and advance the research in this area consists in employing computer simulations to perform controlled in silico experiments. The results of these experiment, in turn, may be incorporated in the design of differential protocols for these pathologies. Accordingly, in this paper, we investigate the spectral responses of human skin affected by the presence of abnormal amounts of two dysfunctional hemoglobins, methemoglobin and sulfahemoglobin, which are associated with two life-threatening medical conditions, methemoglobinemia and sulfhemoglobinemia respectively. We analyse the results of our in silico experiments, and discuss their potential applications to the development of more effective noninvasive differentiation and monitoring procedures for these medical conditions.
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    On the impact of storage in residential power distribution systems
    (University of Waterloo, 2012-05-02) Ardakanian, Omid; Rosenberg, Catherine; Keshav, S.
    It is anticipated that energy storage will be incorporated into the distribution network component of the future smart grid to allow desirable features such as distributed generation integration and reduction in the peak demand. There is, therefore, an urgent need to understand the impact of storage on distribution system planning. In this paper, we focus on the effect of storage on the loading of neighbourhood pole-top transformers. We apply a probabilistic sizing technique originally developed for sizing buffers and communication links in telecommunications networks to jointly size storage and transformers in the distribution network. This allows us to compute the potential gains from transformer upgrade deferral due to the addition of storage. We validate our results through numerical simulation using measurements of home load in a testbed of 20 homes and demonstrate that our guidelines allow local distribution companies to defer transformer upgrades without reducing reliability.
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    Pathwidth and small-height drawings of 2-connected outer-planar graphs
    (University of Waterloo, 2012-04-17) Biedl, Therese
    In this paper, we study planar drawings of 2-connected outer-planar graphs. In an earlier paper we showed that every such graph has a visibility representation with height O(log n). In this paper, we show that with a different construction, the height is 4pw(G)-3, where pw(G) denotes the pathwidth of graph G. Since for any planar graph G, any planar drawing has height >=pw(G), this is a 4-approximation algorithm for the height. We also show that our visibility representations can be converted into straight-line drawings of the same height.
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    A framework for adaptive workflow (model human behaviour - don't constrain it!)
    (University of Waterloo, 2012-03-28) Covvey, H. Dominic; Cowan, Donald D.; Alencar, Paulo; Malyk, William; So, Joel; Henriques, D.; Fenton, Shirley L.
    Healthcare processes are complex and highly variable from day to day. Healthcare process execution can be affected by any participant in a process, including clinicians, the patient, and the patient's family, as well as by environmental factors such as clinician, staff, facility and equipment available, and patient clinical status. However, there are no solutions that enable computer support for a process to address the full complexity and variability of healthcare processes. We have re-conceptualized workflow and developed an innovative process representation and execution framework based on concepts from software engineering, machine learning, complexity, and database management. This new framework frees processes to track human behaviour, thereby releasing us from the constraints of past methods.