Dr
Jake
Iles-Smith
School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences
Senior Lecturer in Quantum Technologies
Full contact details
Hicks Building
- Profile
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I joined the University of Sheffield in September 2024 as Senior Lecturer in Quantum Technologies. My research focuses on open quantum systems and quantum optics, developing theoretical and computational methods to understand and control how interactions with the surrounding environment affect quantum technologies.
I completed my PhD at Imperial College London in 2015, with a thesis entitled Excitation dynamics of strongly dissipative quantum systems. Following this, I held a postdoctoral position at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU Photonics, 2015–2018). I subsequently held a Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 Research Fellowship at Sheffield and Manchester (2018–2020), before becoming a Presidential Research Fellow at the University of Manchester (2020–2024).
ORCID: 0000-0003-4578-6759
- Research interests
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Open Quantum Systems Theory
Research Project(s)
My research at Sheffield explores how interactions with the surrounding environment influence quantum systems, and how these effects can be understood and controlled to improve quantum technologies. My group develops analytical and computational methods that capture strong coupling, environmental memory and other effects beyond standard descriptions of quantum noise.
A central focus is solid-state quantum optics, particularly semiconductor quantum dots and atomic defects in materials. We investigate how lattice vibrations affect the coherence and entanglement of emitted light, and develop strategies for improving single-photon sources and spin–photon interfaces through optical control and photonic device design.
We also study quantum thermodynamics and quantum effects in molecular systems, including how interactions between electronic, spin and vibrational degrees of freedom influence energy transfer Working with experimental collaborators, we connect microscopic models to measurable behaviour and identify ways to protect and exploit quantum coherence.
- Publications
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Journal articles
- Markovian approach to N-Photon correlations beyond the quantum regression theorem. Physical Review Letters, 136(8). View this article in WRRO
- Non-Markovian quantum heat statistics with the reaction coordinate mapping. Quantum Science and Technology, 10(2). View this article in WRRO
- On-demand heralded MIR single-photon source using a cascaded quantum system. Science Advances, 11(11). View this article in WRRO
- Optical spin initialization and readout with a cavity-coupled quantum dot in an in-plane magnetic field. Physical Review B, 110. View this article in WRRO
- Capturing non-Markovian polaron dressing with the master equation formalism. The Journal of Chemical Physics, 161(13). View this article in WRRO
- Nanocavity enhanced photon coherence of solid-state quantum emitters operating up to 30 K. Materials for Quantum Technology, 3(4). View this article in WRRO
- Photon Statistics of Filtered Resonance Fluorescence. Physical Review Letters, 125(4), ---. View this article in WRRO
- Phonon effects in quantum dot single-photon sources. Optical Materials Express, 10(1), 222-222.
- Vibrational enhancement of quadrature squeezing and phase sensitivity in resonance fluorescence. Nature Communications, 10(1). View this article in WRRO
- Light Scattering from Solid-State Quantum Emitters: Beyond the Atomic Picture. Physical Review Letters, 123(16), ---. View this article in WRRO
- Generating maximal entanglement between spectrally distinct solid-state emitters. Physical Review Letters, 123(2). View this article in WRRO
- A solid-state source of strongly entangled photon pairs with high brightness and indistinguishability. Nature Nanotechnology, 14(6), 586-593. View this article in WRRO
- Phonon scattering inhibits simultaneous near-unity efficiency and indistinguishability in semiconductor single-photon sources. Nature Photonics, 11(8), 521-526. View this article in WRRO
- Probing electron-phonon interaction through two-photon interference in resonantly driven semiconductor quantum dots. Physical Review Letters, 118(23). View this article in WRRO
- Quantum correlations of light and matter through environmental transitions. Optica, 3(2), 207-207.
- Energy transfer in structured and unstructured environments: Master equations beyond the Born-Markov approximations. The Journal of Chemical Physics, 144(4).
- Few-photon transport in Fano-resonance waveguide geometries. Physical Review A, 101(6).
- Phonon-Induced Optical Dephasing in Single Organic Molecules. Physical Review Letters, 124(15).
- Exact quantum dynamics in structured environments. Physical Review Research, 2(1).
- Quantum light-matter interaction and controlled phonon scattering in a photonic Fano cavity. Physical Review B, 100(21).
- Environmental Nonadditivity and Franck-Condon physics in Nonequilibrium Quantum Systems. Physical Review Letters, 123(9).
- Cavity-waveguide interplay in optical resonators and its role in optimal single-photon sources. Physical Review B, 98(12).
- Driving-induced population trapping and linewidth narrowing via the quantum Zeno effect. Physical Review A, 97(6).
- Intrinsic and environmental effects on the interference properties of a high-performance quantum dot single-photon source. Physical Review B, 97(19).
- Protocol for generating multiphoton entangled states from quantum dots in the presence of nuclear spin fluctuations. Physical Review A, 96(6).
- Limits to coherent scattering and photon coalescence from solid-state quantum emitters. Physical Review B, 95(20).
- Environmental dynamics, correlations, and the emergence of noncanonical equilibrium states in open quantum systems. Physical Review A, 90(3).
Conference proceedings
- Photon Statistics of Filtered Quantum Dot Resonance Fluorescence. 2021 Conference on Lasers and Electro Optics CLEO 2021 Proceedings
- Photon Statistics of Filtered Quantum Dot Resonance Fluorescence. Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics (pp FTh4M.5-FTh4M.5), 2021.
- Photon Statistics of Filtered Quantum Dot Resonance Fluorescence. Frontiers in Optics / Laser Science (pp FW4C.4-FW4C.4), 2020.
- Coherent scattering from quantum dots: beyond the atomic picture. Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics (pp FW3C.5-FW3C.5), 2020.
- Generating Maximal Entanglement between Spectrally Distinct Solid-State Emitters. 2019 Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics Europe & European Quantum Electronics Conference (CLEO/Europe-EQEC) (pp 1-1), 23 June 2019 - 27 June 2019.
- Light Scattering from Solid-State Quantum Emitters: Beyond the Atomic Picture. International Conference on Metamaterials Photonic Crystals and Plasmonics (pp 438-439)
- Phonon limit to simultaneous near-unity efficiency and indistinguishability in semiconductor single photon sources. 2017 Conference on Lasers and Electro Optics CLEO 2017 Proceedings, Vol. 2017-January (pp 1-2)
- Phonon limit to simultaneous near-unity efficiency and indistinguishability in semiconductor single photon sources. Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics (pp FTu3E.3-FTu3E.3), 2017.
Preprints
- Efficient optimisation of multi-parameter quantum control protocols for strongly-coupled systems, arXiv.
- Nanocavity enhanced photon coherence of solid-state quantum emitters operating up to 30 K, arXiv.
- Photon Statistics of Filtered Resonance Fluorescence, arXiv.
- Few-photon Transport in Fano-resonance waveguide geometries.
- Light Scattering from Solid-State Quantum Emitters: Beyond the Atomic Picture, arXiv.
- Optical spin initialisation and readout with a cavity-coupled quantum dot in an in-plane magnetic field. View this article in WRRO
- Markovian approach to N-Photon correlations beyond the quantum regression theorem. Physical Review Letters, 136(8). View this article in WRRO
- Research group
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Semiconductor Photonics and Quantum Technology
- Grants
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I lead two externally funded research projects at the University of Sheffield:
EPSRC New Investigator Award: Optimal Control of Open Quantum Systems in Strong Coupling Regimes (2026–2029). Combining tensor-network methods, optimal control and machine learning to develop control protocols that suppress decoherence and improve the performance of solid-state quantum technologies.
UKRI–NSF: A New Framework for Exploring and Exploiting Quantum Correlations in Molecular Singlet Fission (2025–2028). An international collaboration combining open quantum systems theory, quantum information, quantum chemistry and spectroscopy to understand and exploit spin coherence and entanglement in molecular materials.