Cristobal Vallejos
Mailing Address:
104 Davey Lab, Box #C60, University Park, Pa 16802
Research
My research focuses on developing new microscopic methods to describe decoherence and dissipation in open quantum systems, an area of critical importance for quantum technologies, and for controlling material properties at the nanoscale. Understanding how quantum information is lost to the environment is essential both for designing robust quantum devices and for interpreting relaxation and transport phenomena in condensed matter systems. In my current project, I investigate how anharmonic environments—which deviate from the idealized harmonic baths typically assumed in theory—modify the dissipative dynamics of quantum systems. Using a spectral-density–based analysis within the Lindblad master equation framework, I introduce anharmonic effects from microscopic considerations, revealing how nonlinear interactions alter energy-transport channels and relaxation times. Understanding these effects has broad implications. For quantum technologies, improved models enable better strategies for error mitigation, device design, and material selection.
Awards
- FIP Distinguished Student (DS) Award, by the Forum on International Physics APS (2026)
- W. Donald Miller Graduate Fellowship in Physics, by the Eberly College of Science (2026)
- David C. Duncan Graduate Fellowship in Physics, by the Eberly College of Science (2026)
- Student Leadership Scholarship, by the office of Student Leadership & Involvement (2025)
- W. Donald Miller Graduate Fellowship in Physics, by the Eberly College of Science (2025)
- David C. Duncan Graduate Fellowship in Physics, by the Eberly College of Science (2025)
- Homer F. Braddock Scholarship in Biology, Chemistry, and Physics, by the Eberly College of Science (2024)
- W. Donald Miller Graduate Fellowship in Physics, by the Eberly College of Science (2024)
- David C. Duncan Graduate Fellowship in Physics, by the Eberly College of Science (2024)
- David H. Rank Memorial Physics Award, by the Department of Physics (2022)
- Fulbright Scholar (2021-2025)
Publications
- Benguria, R. D., Stockmeyer, E., Vallejos, C., & Van den Bosch, H. A Block-diagonal form for four-component operators describing Graphene Quantum Dots. arXiv preprint (2022) https://arxiv.org/abs/2211.07568
- Benguria, R.D., Vallejos, C. & Van Den Bosch, H. Existence and non-existence of minimizers for Poincaré–Sobolev inequalities. Calc. Var. 59, 1 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00526-019-1640-y
- Benguria, R.D., Vallejos, C. & and Van Den Bosch, H. Gagliardo-Nirenberg-Sobolev inequalities for convex domains in Rd . Mathematical Research Letters, 26(5), pp.1291-1312 (2019). https://dx.doi.org/10.4310/MRL.2019.v26.n5.a3
Presentations Repository
Check my latest oral and poster presentations: GitHub Repository
Service Activities
President of the Chilean American Students and Community Association (CHASCA) in Penn State (2024-2025).
Read our interview for the Daily Collegian: Penn State CHASCA introduces Chilean culture to the community