Quantum optics and open quantum systems: quantum fluctuation phenomena, collective atom-photon interactions, non-Markovian open quantum systems and decoherence.

Kanu Sinha is an Assistant Professor at the Wyant College of Optical Sciences at the University of Arizona (UA) where she leads the Quantum Optics and Open Quantum Systems (QOOQS) group. She earned her Ph.D. in Physics at the University of Maryland, College Park, and has held postdoctoral appointments at the Institute of Quantum Optics and Quantum Information (IQOQI) in Innsbruck and the US Army Research Laboratory (ARL). She was subsequently an Associate Research Scholar at Princeton University, and an Assistant Professor at Arizona State University before starting her current position at UA. Her research is at the intersection of quantum optics, quantum information and open quantum systems – with a focus on quantum fluctuation phenomena, collective atom-field interactions and non-Markovian open quantum systems.

Assistant Professor, College of Optical Sciences, and Department of Physics (Joint Faculty), University of Arizona, 2024–present
Adjunct Faculty, School of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering, Arizona State University, 2024– present

Assistant Professor, School of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering, Arizona State University, 2022–2023
Associate Research Scholar, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Princeton University, 2021–2022

Postdoctoral Research Associate, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Princeton University, 2020-2021

Postdoctoral Fellow, US Army Research Laboratory (ARL), and Joint Quantum Institute (JQI), University of Maryland, College Park, 2018–2019

Postdoctoral Researcher, Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information (IQOQI) and Institute for Theoretical Physics (ITP), University of Innsbruck, 2015–2017
 

Ph.D. Physics, University of Maryland, College Park, 2015
Thesis: “A Microscopic Model for Quantum Optomechanics”
Thesis Advisor: Prof. Bei-Lok Hu

B.Tech. Engineering Physics, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, 2008
Undergraduate Thesis: “Quantum Properties of Four-Wave Mixing”
Thesis Advisor: Prof. K. Thyagarajan

Scialog Quantum Matter and Information Fellow, 2025
US Army Research Laboratory (ARL) Postdoctoral Fellowship, 2018
Short term scientific mission (STSM) award, “Nanoscale Quantum Optics” COST Action, 2018
Dr. Ruth Davis Fellowship, University of Maryland, 2015
Departmental Fellowship, Department of Physics, University of Maryland, 2008-10

1. “Non-Markovian delay-assisted quantum sensing with waveguide-coupled quantum emitters”, P. Dhara, I. Chavez-Padilla, A. Das, S. Guha, and K. Sinha (In preparation)

2. “Investigating correlations of waveguide-coupled atoms in a half cavity: Theory and Experiment”, A. Lee, H. S. Han, K. Sinha, F. K. Fatemi, S. L. Rolston (In preparation)

3. “Effect of Self-Interaction on Feynman’s Interpretation of the Lamb Shift”, P. W. Milonni, P. R. Berman, K. Sinha, Phys. Rev. A 111, 062208 (2025)

4. “Spontaneous Emission in the presence of Quantum Mirrors”, K. Sinha, J. Parra-Contreras, A. Das, and P. Solano, New J. Phys. 27, 054101 (2025)

5. “Non-Markovian spontaneous emission in a tunable cavity formed by atomic mirrors”, A. Das, P. Solano, and K. Sinha arXiv:2504.09281 (2025)

6. “Near-surface quantum sensing”, M. Izadyari, A. Pedram, L. Gassab, Ö. E. Müstecaplio ˇglu, and K. Sinha, Proc. SPIE 13392, Quantum Sensing, Imaging, and Precision Metrology III, 133920R (2025)

7. “Fluctuation-induced decoherence of macroscopic superpositions”, K. Sinha and Clemens Jakubec, Proc. SPIE 13392, Quantum Sensing, Imaging, and Precision Metrology III, 133920Q (2025)

8. “Decoherence and Brownian motion of a polarizable particle near a medium”, C. Jakubec, C. Jarzynski and K. Sinha, arXiv:2408.15433 (2024)

9. “Steady-State Entanglement Generation via Casimir-Polder Interactions”, M. Izadyari, O. Pusuluk, K. Sinha and O. Müstecaplıo ˘glu, arXiv:2406.02270 (2024)

10. “Chapter: Thermodynamic perspective on quantum fluctuations ”, A. Sone, K. Sinha, S. Deffner, Book chapter in Encyclopedia of Mathematical Physics, 2nd edition, Eds. Richard Szabo and Martin Bojowald, Academic Press, Oxford (2024)

11. “Delay-induced spontaneous dark state generation from two distant excited atoms”, W. Alvarez, P. Solano, K. Sinha, P. Barberis-Blostein, Phys. Rev. Research 6, 023213 (2024)

12. “Fluctuation-induced forces on nanospheres in external fields”, C. Jakubec, U. Deli´c, P. Solano, K. Sinha, Phys. Rev. A 109, 052807 (2024)

13. “Scalar QED Model for Polarizable Particles in Thermal Equilibrium or in Hyperbolic Motion in Vacuum”, K. Sinha and P. W. Milonni, Physics 6, 356 (2024) (Invited article)

14. “Quantum Electrodynamics near Time-varying Dielectrics”, A. Prabhu, J. Parra-Contreras, E. Goldschmidt, K. Sinha, arXiv:2310.13878 (2023)

15. “Collective Quantum Beats from Distant Emitters”, A. Lee, H. S. Han, F. K. Fatemi, S. L. Rolston, K. Sinha, Phys. Rev. A 107, 013701 (2023)

16. “Dissimilar collective decay and directional emission from two quantum emitters”, P. Solano, P. Barberis-Blostein and K. Sinha, Phys. Rev. A 107, 023723 (2023)

17. “Dipoles in blackbody radiation: Momentum fluctuations, decoherence, and drag force”, K. Sinha and P. W. Milonni, J. Phys. B 55 204002 (2022) (Invited article)

18. “Radiative Dynamics of a Josephson atom coupled to a Josephson junction array”, K. Sinha, S. A. Khan, E. Cüce, and H. E. Türeci, Phys. Rev. A 106, 033714 (2022)

19. “Dipole-dipole interactions through a lens”, A. O. Morales, K. Sinha, and P. Solano, Phys. Rev. A 106, 013703 (2022)

20. “An atomic spin on amplification of light”, K. Sinha and E. A. Goldschmidt, Nature Photonics, 16 339 (2022)

21. “Quantum coherences and classical phase space inhomogeneities as equivalent thermodynamic resources”, A. Smith, K. Sinha, and C. Jarzynski, Entropy 24, 474 (2022)

22. “Observation of vacuum-induced collective quantum beats”, H. S. Han, A. Lee, K. Sinha, F. K. Fatemi, and S. L. Rolston, Phys. Rev. Lett. 127, 073604 (2021)

23. “Dissipative dynamics of a particle coupled to field via internal degrees of freedom”, K. Sinha, A. E. R. López, and Y. Suba¸sı, Phys. Rev. D 103, 056023 (2021)

24. “Mechanical Quantum Sensing in the Search for Dark Matter”, D. Carney, G. Krnjaic, D. C. Moore, C. A. Regal, G. Afek, S. Bhave, B. Brubaker, T. Corbitt, J. Cripe, N. Crisosto, A. Geraci, S. Ghosh, J. G. E. Harris, A. Hook, E. W. Kolb, J. Kunjummen, R. F. Lang, T. Li, T. Lin, Z. Liu, J. Lykken, L. Magrini, J. Manley, N. Matsumoto, A. Monte, F. Monteiro, T. Purdy, C. J. Riedel, R. Singh, S. Singh, K. Sinha, J. M. Taylor, J. Qin, D. J. Wilson, Y. Zhao, Quantum Sci. Technol. 6, 024002 (2021)

25. “Collective radiation from distant emitters”, K. Sinha, A. Gonzalez-Tudela, Y. Lu, and P. Solano, Phys. Rev. A 102, 043718 (2020)

26. “Quantum Brownian motion from Casimir-Polder interactions”, K. Sinha and Y. Suba¸sı, Phys. Rev. A 101, 032507 (2020)

27. “Non-Markovian collective emission from macroscopically separated emitters”, K. Sinha, P. Meystre, E. A. Goldschmidt, F. K. Fatemi, S. L. Rolston, and P. Solano, Phys. Rev. Lett. 124, 043603 (2020)

28. “Non-Markovian dynamics of collective atomic states coupled to a waveguide”, K. Sinha, P. Meystre, and P. Solano, Proc. SPIE 11091, Quantum Nanophotonic Materials, Devices, and Systems 2019, (2019)

29. “Collective effects in Casimir-Polder forces”, K. Sinha, B. P. Venkatesh, and P. Meystre, Phys. Rev. Lett. 121, 183605 (2018)

30. “Repulsive Casimir-Polder forces on a magnetic particle”, K. Sinha, Phys. Rev. A 97, 032513 (2018)

31. “On-chip quantum interference of a superconducting microsphere”, H. Pino, J. Prat-Camps, K. Sinha, B. P. Venkatesh, and O. Romero-Isart, Quantum Sci. Technol. 3, 025001 (2018)

32. “Mirror-Field Entanglement in a Microscopic model for Quantum Optomechanics”, K. Sinha, S.-Y. Lin, and B.L. Hu, Phys. Rev. A, 92, 023852 (2015)

33. “Trapping atoms using nanoscale quantum vacuum forces”, D. E. Chang, K. Sinha, J. M. Taylor, and H. J. Kimble, Nat. Commun. 5, 4343 (2014)

34. “Effect of Interatomic Separation on Entanglement Dynamics in a Two-Atom Two-Mode Model”, K. Sinha, N. I. Cummings, and B. L. Hu, J. Phys. B 45 035503 (2012)

35. “Generation of polarization-entangled photons using type-II doubly periodically poled lithium niobate waveguides”, K. Thyagarajan, J. Lugani, S. Ghosh, K. Sinha, A. Martin, D. B. Ostrowsky, O. Alibart, and S. Tanzilli, Phys. Rev. A, 80, 052321 (2009)

36. “Generation of Polarization Entangled Photons from Type-II Domain Engineered PPLN Waveguides”, K. Thyagarajan, K. Sinha, J. Lugani, S. Ghosh, O. Alibart, D. Ostrowsky, and S. Tanzilli, Conference proceedings in Frontiers in Optics 2009/Laser Science XXV/Fall 2009 (OSA, San Jose, 2009)