An extensively pursued current direction of research in physics aims at the development of practical technologies that exploit the effects of quantum mechanics. As part of this ongoing effort, devices for quantum information processing, secure communication, and high-precision sensing are being implemented with diverse systems, ranging from photons, atoms, and spins to mesoscopic superconducting and nanomechanical structures. Their physical properties make some of these systems better suited than others for specific tasks; thus, photons are well suited for transmitting quantum information, weakly interacting spins can serve as long-lived quantum memories, and superconducting elements can rapidly process information encoded in their quantum states. A central goal of the envisaged quantum technologies is to develop devices that can simultaneously perform several of these tasks, namely, reliably store, process, and transmit quantum information. Hybrid quantum systems composed of different physical components with complementary functionalities may provide precisely such multitasking capabilities. This article reviews some of the driving theoretical ideas and first experimental realizations of hybrid quantum systems and the opportunities and challenges they present and offers a glance at the near- and long-term perspectives of this fascinating and rapidly expanding field.

In this paper, we address the question: To what extent is the quantum state preparation of multiatom clusters (before they are injected into the microwave cavity) instrumental for determining not only the kind of machine we may operate, but also the quantitative bounds of its performance? Figuratively speaking, if the multiatom cluster is the “crude oil”, the question is: Which preparation of the cluster is the refining process that can deliver a “gasoline” with a “specific octane”? We classify coherences or quantum correlations among the atoms according to their ability to serve as: (i) fuel for nonthermal machines corresponding to atomic states whose coherences displace or squeeze the cavity field, as well as cause its heating; and (ii) fuel that is purely “combustible”, i.e., corresponds to atomic states that only allow for heat and entropy exchange with the field and can energize a proper heat engine. We identify highly promising multiatom states for each kind of fuel and propose viable experimental schemes for their implementation.

We propose a simple scheme for highly efficient nonlinear interaction between two weak optical fields. The scheme is based on the attainment of electromagnetically induced transparency simultaneously for both fields via transitions between magnetically split $F=1\mathrm{}$ atomic sublevels, in the presence of two driving fields. Thereby, equal slow group velocities and symmetric cross coupling of the weak fields over long distances are achieved. By simply tuning the fields, this scheme can either yield giant cross-phase modulation or ultrasensitive two-photon switching.

We experimentally and theoretically demonstrate the purity (polarization) control of qubits entangled with multiple spins, using induced dephasing in nuclear magnetic resonance setups to simulate repeated quantum measurements. We show that one may steer the qubit ensemble towards a quasiequilibrium state of a certain purity by choosing suitable time intervals between dephasing operations. These results demonstrate that repeated dephasing at intervals associated with the anti-Zeno regime leads to ensemble purification, whereas those associated with the Zeno regime lead to ensemble mixing.

An entangled multipartite system coupled to a zero-temperature bath undergoes rapid disentanglement in many realistic scenarios due to local, symmetry-breaking differences in the particle-bath couplings. We show that locally controlled perturbations, addressing each particle individually, can impose a symmetry allowing the existence of decoherence-free multipartite entangled systems.