Neutral atoms are promising candidates to store and manipulate quantum information. In this thesis we examine several problems related to the control of neutral atoms for quantum computation and simulation. In the first problem we show how the transport of atoms in an optical lattice can be controlled through variation of the polarization of the optical lattice and the application of global microwave pulses. This type of control control is a first step in many of the schemes for quantum computation and quantum simulation. We show that with the available tools for global control, the synthesis of any unitary transformation, consistent with translational invariance, may be performed and provide an explicit method for carrying this out. In the second problem, we study a spectroscopic method for probing atomic interactions that may form the basis for two-qudit quantum logic gates. The confinement of atoms required to perform quantum computation can strongly affect how they interact. Probing the nature of those confinement-induced effects is a first step towards quantum computing with neutral atoms. Transport of the atoms to overlapping wells is achieved through microwave pulses that drive population between hyperfine levels in a lin-perp-lin polarization-gradient lattice. By measuring the amount of population transferred into certain excited states, we can detect changes in the spectrum of the two-atom system induced by the interaction. In the third problem, we consider a cloud of cold atoms driven by both microwave and radio-frequency magnetic fields. The large number of spin sublevels available in individual atoms makes them candidates for a qudit-based quantum computer. Because the applied fields that drive the system may be inhomogeneous, the collection of atoms forms an ensemble of different qudits. Borrowing ideas developed for NMR control, we show how to drive the ensemble through a given evolution. We show that even in the presence of large experimental errors, state preparation may be achieved with high fidelities. We also show that intentionally applied variations in spatial magnetic fields can be used to synthesize different states in different regions of space.
Cavity optomechanics represents a frontier research direction in quantum science and technology, centered on the control and exploration of interactions between electromagnetic fields and mechanical motion. Rooted in quantum mechanics, this field realizes efficient coupling and precise manipulation of optical fields and mechanical vibrations through the structural design and precise regulation of optical microcavities and mechanical oscillators, thereby revealing and harnessing novel quantum phenomena. In recent years, cavity optomechanics has evolved into an interdisciplinary frontier integrating quantum optics, condensed matter physics, and quantum precision measurement, exhibiting profound application in both fundamental physics research and quantum information science. With advancements in technologies such as nanomanufacturing and laser cooling, optomechanical interactions have been successfully demonstrated in various experimental systems. Among these platforms, cavity cold-atom systems stand out as one of the ideal platforms for implementing quantum optomechanics. Featuring exceptional environmental isolation, long quantum coherence times, and strong light-matter interaction, these systems provide a crucial testbed for exploring strong and even ultrastrong optomechanical coupling effects as well as rich nonlinear quantum phenomena. This paper reviews the recent progress in optomechanical control and manipulation based on cavity cold-atom systems. We first outline the fundamental principles of standard cavity optomechanical systems. Then, we describe the experimental realization of linear and nonlinear optomechanical couplings in cold-atom systems. After that, we focus on the representative applications of this platform in high-precision quantum sensing, quantum memory, and the preparation of macroscopic nonclassical states. Finally, we give an outlook and challenges in this field.
A neutral atom interacting with a single mode of a high finesse cavity provides an opportunity to study uncharted quantum mechanical systems and to explore the field of quantum computing and networking. Ranging from being a deterministic single photon source to a coherent storage unit for quantum information, a strong coupling cavity QED system has proven to be a powerful tool. In this thesis, single atoms are deterministically delivered over long distances and probed in an optical cavity. Once in the cavity, a single atom is stored and continuously observed for over 15 seconds. Progress towards using atoms in the cavity to produce entangled photon pairs is presented. Dual 1D optical lattices are implemented to create a foundation for advancements in two qubit quantum operations and entanglements.
Neutral atoms, trapped in optical tweezers and lattices, have gained significant attention owing to advances in laser technologies, control hardware, and innovative experimental techniques. These systems offer unique advantages such as long coherence times, natural homogeneity, and scalability, while also presenting challenges related to gate speed limitations, atom loss, slow measurements, and other imperfections. Quantum control theory has emerged as a crucial tool for advancing these technologies by enabling precise manipulation of atoms. In this thesis, we review the foundational concepts in quantum control theory, outlining both analytical approaches and numerical optimization techniques, including methods to account for experimental imperfections. A concise overview of neutral atom platforms follows, covering two distinct operational regimes: Rydberg atoms in optical tweezers and fermionic atoms in optical superlattices. The core of the thesis is dedicated to our work addressing practical control problems in neutral atom systems. First, we develop a platform-independent method for estimating and compensating nonlinear pulse distortions in experimental setups and demonstrate its use numerically for Rydberg atom excitations. Next, we tackle the challenge of implementing fast and robust gates in fermionic atom systems trapped in superlattices by optimizing lattice depths. Finally, we explore the application of Rydberg-based analog quantum simulators for variational quantum eigensolvers, using Lie-algebraic tools to analyze symmetry restrictions. This work highlights the essential role of quantum control methods in enhancing the fidelity, robustness, and applicability of neutral atom quantum technologies. It also demonstrates how combining theoretical tools, numerical optimization, and experimental considerations leads to practical solutions for scalable and high-performance quantum systems. The methods and insights developed here also offer transferable strategies for other quantum hardware architectures.
The power of quantum computation derives from algorithmic methods that exploit the availability of quantum superposition and entanglement to perform computations that are intractable with classical devices. The race is on to develop hardware that will unleash the promise of quantum algorithms. A handful of different types of hardware are currently being developed with the greatest efforts directed at superconducting, quantum-dot, trapped-ion, photonic, and neutral-atom approaches [1]. While all approaches have strengths and weaknesses, and are at different stages of development, the challenge of creating a practical design that can be scaled to a million or more qubits has not yet been met with any of the existing platforms. One may wonder if we really need a million qubits for a useful quantum computer. The answer depends on our ambition level. On the one hand it is widely believed that a quantum computer with less than 100 reliable qubits will be able to demonstrate a quantum advantage for a well defined computational problem [2]. Demonstration of a quantum computational advantage will generate great excitement in the halls of academia, but will have little broader import. A problem of great practical interest such as ab initio design of chemicals for increasing the yield of fertilizers for crop production, to name but one example, may also require just a few hundred qubits, provided computational sequences with circuit depth of 1010 or more operations can be reliably performed [3]. However, given the current performance of qubit hardware, which has demonstrated error rates not less than ∼10−3, computations with depth 1010 will only produce random outcomes of negligible value. The solution lies in the construction of error-correction circuitry operating on logical qubits, each composed of many physical qubits, which will enable logical error rates many orders of magnitude smaller than physical error rates. Although error correction is remarkably efficient for classical computing devices—Hamming codes detect and correct errors while only requiring roughly 10% overhead in the number of physical bits—quantum error correction is notoriously expensive. New approaches to error correction are the subject of intensive research with one promising direction being the development of codes that are optimized to suppress the dominant error mechanism in a particular physical platform [4,5]. Nevertheless, with physical error rates of 10−4, a plausible target for current qubit systems, the overhead required to reach logical error rates of 10−10 may be measured in thousands of physical qubits for each logical qubit. Thus a quantum computer able to perform deep calculations on a few hundred logical qubits could require a million physical qubits. A consequence of the cost of quantum error correction is that any viable approach to large-scale quantum computing needs to combine high-fidelity quantum logic operations with a capability for integrating large numbers of physical qubits. From this perspective neutral-atom qubits appear particularly promising [6] as they have already demonstrated control of more qubits than any other platform with recent experiments in 1D [7], 2D [8,9], and 3D [10] geometries showing control of up to 50 atomic qubits. Large qubit arrays can potentially be prepared in 1D, 2D, or 3D geometries. The number of proximal qubits increases with the dimensionality, which is advantageous for implementation of error correction code words, and points towards a preference for 2D or 3D arrays. On the other hand, the added overhead of compensating crosstalk incurred when targeting atoms inside a 3D volume makes parallel operations on multiple qubits challenging. A 2D geometry, as shown schematically in Fig. 1, may be an optimal choice since qubit control and measurement can be performed with lasers propagating normal to the plane of the array so that individual qubit sites can be addressed independently. With demonstrated array periods of a few micrometers we require a footprint of less than 1 mm2 for 104 qubits. Conceptual picture of a 2D neutral-atom qubit array. a) High-numerical-aperture lenses project several different wavelengths of light for control and measurement of the qubits. Specific choices of optical wavelengths depend on the atomic species. Not shown are optics for initial laser cooling, transport to the array, beam scanning, and imaging for qubit measurement. b) Averaged fluorescence image of 49 atomic qubits on a 2D grid with |
3.8μm| spacing [8]. From a fundamental perspective the prospects for scaling neutral-atom systems are particularly promising due to the exceptionally large ratio between coherent and incoherent coupling rates. Neutral-atom qubits are encoded in hyperfine ground states for which coherence times of the order of 10 s have been demonstrated [10]. This implies a dephasing rate |
γ∼0.1s−1|. The coherent coupling that enables quantum logic operations is switched on by exciting atoms to high-lying Rydberg states with principal quantum number close to 100 [11,12]. Rydberg excited atoms at spacings of a few micrometers in an optical lattice interact coherently with rates |
g>109s−1|. The ratio between desired coherent coupling and residual incoherent dephasing of g/γ ∼ 1010 establishes a figure of merit that is enabling for scalability. To our knowledge only trapped ions can claim a similar g/γ ratio [13], but without a correspondingly direct path towards controlling thousands of qubits in a single processing unit. Although the g/γ ratio is exceptionally favorable for neutral-atom qubits a complete set of universal gate operations has not yet been demonstrated with high fidelity. Single-qubit gates in large 2D and 3D arrays have reached fidelity |
F∼0.999| [8,10]. However, the highest demonstrated fidelity for two-qubit entanglement mediated by Rydberg-state interactions is |
F<0.8| [6,14,15], a value that is well short of the theoretical limit of |
F>0.9999| [16,17]. There is healthy optimism within the research community working with neutral-atom qubits that combining improved laser sources with reduced noise, better cooling to reduce motional dephasing, and control of stray electric fields that perturb Rydberg atoms will lead to substantially improved gate fidelity in the near future. Recent results with better filtering of laser phase noise have already demonstrated remarkable improvement in ground–Rydberg entanglement [18]. The outlook for the next few years appears very promising. We anticipate that with advances in lasers, optical lattices for atom trapping, deterministic rearrangement and loading of atoms in multi-dimensional arrays [19,20], and optics for fast beam scanning it will be possible to increase the number of physical qubits in a single neutral-atom module to at least 104. A challenging yet plausible path to a million-qubit processor can then be contemplated by connecting 100 such modules with atom–photon entanglement channels [21]. Beyond the potential for advancing the state of the art in computation, development of techniques for single-atom control inside large multi-atom arrays will enable other applications of quantum science including metrology and time-keeping. Rydberg interactions that are at the heart of a neutral-atom quantum computer may lead to multi-atom entanglement and Heisenberg scaling of atomic-clock precision [22]. This work was supported by the NSF and ARL CDQI.
We introduce a new direction in the field of atom optics, atom interferometry, and neutral-atom quantum information processing. It is based on the use of microfabricated optical elements. With these elements versatile and integrated atom optical devices can be created in a compact fashion. This approach opens the possibility to scale, parallelize, and miniaturize atom optics for new investigations in fundamental research and application. It will lead to new, compact sources of ultracold atoms, compact sensors based on matter wave interference and new approaches towards quantum computing with neutral atoms. The exploitation of the unique features of the quantum mechanical behavior of matter waves and the capabilities of powerful state-of-the-art micro- and nanofabrication techniques lend this approach a special attraction.