arXiv:1505.03183 · Physical Review A
Heralded W -state preparation using laser-designed superatoms
Martin Gärttner
Abstract
We propose a scheme for preparing an ensemble of atoms in a maximally entangled $W$ state by exploiting the Rydberg blockade effect. The success of our protocol is indicated by the detection of an ion, which thus serves as a herald for successful entangled-state preparation. The fidelity of the preparation scheme is independent of the number of atoms in the ensemble. Therefore, a small cloud of atoms in a dipole trap randomly loaded from a background gas can be reliably prepared in a maximally entangled state despite atom number fluctuations.