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arXiv:2204.04276 · PRX Quantum

Quantum Computation in a Hybrid Array of Molecules and Rydberg Atoms

Chi Zhang, Michael R. Tarbutt

Published Sep 16, 2022• 42 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

We show that an array of polar molecules interacting with Rydberg atoms is a promising hybrid system for scalable quantum computation.Quantum information is stored in long-lived hyperfine or rotational states of molecules, which interact indirectly through resonant dipole-dipole interactions with Rydberg atoms.A two-qubit gate based on this interaction has a duration of 1 μs and an achievable fidelity of 99.9%.The gate has little sensitivity to the motional states of the particles-the molecules can be in thermal states, the atoms do not need to be trapped during Rydberg excitation, the gate does not heat the molecules, and heating of the atoms has a negligible effect.Within a large, static array, the gate can be applied to arbitrary pairs of molecules separated by tens of micrometres, making the scheme highly scalable.The molecule-atom interaction can also be used for rapid qubit initialization and efficient, nondestructive qubit readout, without driving any molecular transitions.Single-qubit gates are driven using microwave pulses alone, exploiting the strong electric dipole transitions between rotational states.Thus, all operations required for large-scale quantum computation can be done without moving the molecules or exciting them out of their ground electronic states.

DOI
10.1103/prxquantum.3.030340

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We show that an array of polar molecules interacting with Rydberg atoms is a promising hybrid system for scalable quantum computation.Quantum information is stored in long-lived hyperfine or rotational states of molecules, which interact indirectly through resonant dipole-dipole interactions with Rydberg atoms.A two-qubit gate based on this interaction has a duration of 1 μs and an achievable fidelity of 99.9%.The gate has little sensitivity to the motional states of the particles-the molecules can be in thermal states, the atoms do not need to be trapped during Rydberg excitation, the gate does not heat the molecules, and heating of the atoms has a negligible effect.Within a large, static array, the gate can be applied to arbitrary pairs of molecules separated by tens of micrometres, making the scheme highly scalable.The molecule-atom interaction can also be used for rapid qubit initialization and efficient, nondestructive qubit readout, without driving any molecular transitions.Single-qubit gates are driven using microwave pulses alone, exploiting the strong electric dipole transitions between rotational states.Thus, all operations required for large-scale quantum computation can be done without moving the molecules or exciting them out of their ground electronic states.
Abstract Multi-qubit quantum gates offer an efficient pathway to reducing circuit depth in quantum information processing. Here, we propose two multipartite controlled-NOT gate schemes in a hybrid platform composed of polar molecules and Rydberg atoms. By encoding the control qubits in the long-lived ground states of polar molecules and harnessing the strong dipole–dipole interactions of Rydberg atoms, our approach establishes a gate mechanism that enables both strong and controllable coupling while effectively suppressing decoherence. The scheme can be naturally generalized to larger systems, providing a scalable route toward hybrid quantum computation.
Arrays of trapped neutral atoms and polar molecules have separately emerged as powerful and complementary platforms for quantum science. Neutral atoms enable fast, programmable interactions through excitation to Rydberg states, whereas polar molecules possess long-lived rotational states that are attractive for quantum memories and qudits. Combining these platforms would create new possibilities, but requires a coherent interface between individual atoms and molecules, which so far has not been realised. Here, we establish such an interface between a single neutral atom and a single polar molecule. By tuning atomic and molecular transitions into resonance, we realise strong state-dependent dipolar interactions at micrometre separations in an optical tweezer platform with single-particle control. We exploit this interface to perform quantum operations between the two particles, demonstrating atom-mediated readout of a molecular qubit, coherent spin exchange, and entanglement using a blockade-based controlled-NOT operation. These results establish a new hybrid quantum platform at the intersection of atomic and molecular physics, in which long-lived molecular quantum information can be rapidly mapped onto an atom for readout or onward coherent transfer. The platform provides a route to hybrid quantum processors utilising atom-mediated readout and entanglement of molecular qubits, mixed-species quantum simulators of dipolar systems, and macroscopic entangled molecular states for quantum-enhanced metrology and precision sensing.
Neutral atoms provide an excellent resource for quantum information processing, combining the long atomic coherence times of the hyperfine ground-state with strong dipole-dipole interactions of highly excited Rydberg states for generating deterministic entanglement between qubits separated by < 10 µm [1]. Scalable long-range interactions can be obtained by coupling the atomic array to a superconducting microwave cavity enabling hybrid quantum information processing where the cavity-mediated entanglement allows atoms to be coupled over cm length scales. We present the first steps towards such an experiment incorporating high fidelity readout using an sCMOS camera [2] and the ability to drive fast, optically addressable rotations of the hyperfine-encoded qubits to the Rydberg state. Using our sub-kHz cavitystabilised laser system [3] we demonstrate coherent control of single Rydberg atoms, performing Ramsey spectroscopy to determine coherence time and to generate entanglement between a pair of atoms separated by 6 µm. Combining this excitation scheme with our ground-state Raman lasers we show progress towards the implementation of a mesoscopic Rydberg gate based on electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) offering robust entanglement of multi-atom ensembles [4].
Polar molecules, with their rich internal structure, offer immense potential for fundamental physics, quantum technology, and controlled chemistry. However, their utilization is currently limited because of slow and imperfect state detection and weak dipolar interaction, limiting fast and large-scale entanglement generation. We propose and analyze a scheme for quantum logic control and measurement-based state preparation in a hybrid platform of polar molecules and neutral atoms. The method leverages fast, high-fidelity atom-molecule gates and high-fidelity atomic ancilla measurements to overcome the common challenges in molecule-only platforms, while preserving their diverse structural advantages. The proposed atom-molecule controlled-phase gate is based on resonant dipole-dipole exchange between a molecular rotational transition and an atomic Rydberg transition, rendering it three orders of magnitude faster than any direct molecule-molecule entangling gate. We further study several applications of our scheme including the preparation of molecular GHZ states for quantum enhanced precision measurements, the preparation of exotic molecular qudit states with topological order, and measurement-altered criticality. Our scheme is applicable to any polar molecule. It expands the paradigm of quantum logic control and paves the way to large-scale molecular entangled states. More generally, it highlights a concrete hybrid quantum system in which each qubit is utilized in an optimal way and where the measurement-based approach can yield a significant advantage in near-term devices.
Combining the strong and long-range interaction of cold Rydberg atoms with the controllability of trapped ions, ultracold trapped Rydberg ions provide a promising platform for scalable quantum computing. We demonstrate how microwave-dressed Rydberg states result in rotating permanent dipole moments causing strong dipole-dipole interaction between ions in highly excited Rydberg states. Due to the large difference in time scales, the fast electronic dynamics of the Rydberg ions decouple from the slower oscillator modes in the linear Coulomb crystal. These properties allow us to realize a submicrosecond two-qubit gate between two Rydberg ions confined in a Paul trap reaching fidelities of > 99% under consideration of the finite lifetime of the Rydberg states at room temperature.
We propose high-fidelity controlled-NOT (CNOT) gates in a hybrid system of polar molecules and Rydberg atoms based on the unconventional Rydberg pumping mechanism. By combining the rich internal structure of polar molecules with the strong dipole-dipole interactions of Rydberg atoms, we realize both two-to-one and one-to-two gate configurations. Numerical simulations show that the gate performance is robust against spontaneous emission from Rydberg states. The approach naturally extends to larger systems, as demonstrated by four-qubit implementations achieving three-to-one and one-to-three CNOT gates with fidelities exceeding 99\%. These results highlight hybrid molecule-Rydberg atom architectures as a promising platform for scalable quantum information processing.