UC Berkeley

Quantum information has emerged as a unifying force in our understanding of large-scale quantum mechanical systems. In quantum technologies, the precise dispersal of quantum information enables computational advantages beyond those of any classical computer. In quantum materials, spatial patterns in the quantum information of electrons give rise to topological phases, with exotic properties when these patterns are "cut" by a material boundary. In more remarkable systems still, quantum information appears central to the unification of quantum mechanics and gravity, one of the frontier open questions in our understanding of the universe. At the same time, the emergence of quantum technologies and accompanying theoretical developments have motivated a widespread interest in dynamical quantum phenomena. In this thesis, I explore several questions at the interface of quantum information and many-body quantum dynamics. Can dynamical many-body quantum systems realize stable coherent quantum phenomena---for example, topological phases---beyond those of static systems? How does quantum information move under many-body dynamics? How can we characterize this movement, and what are its physical implications? And finally, what are the best strategies to learn properties of unknown quantum dynamics from measurements involving them? These inquiries are united by their pursuit to realize and understand large-scale quantum mechanical phenomena in the world around us.