Trap-induced resonances in controlled atomic collisions for quantum information processing

Y. H. Fung, Alicia V. Carpentier, Pimonpan Sompet +1 more

We review light assisted collisions in a high-density far-off resonant optical trap (FORT). By tuning the parameters of the light that induces the collisions, the effects of the collisions can be controlled. Trap loss can be suppressed even at high atomic densities, allowing us to count the atoms using fluorescence detection. When only two atoms are trapped, individual loss events reveal new information about the process, and the simplicity of the system allows for a numerical simulation of the dynamics. By optimizing the experimental parameters, we implement an efficient method to prepare single atoms in the FORT. Our methods can be extended to load quantum registers for quantum information processing.

Philippe Grangier

R. Stock, Ivan Deutsch, Eric L. Bolda

We investigate controlled collisions between trapped but separated ultracold atoms. The interaction between atoms is treated self-consistently using an energy-dependent delta-function pseudopotential model, whose validity we establish. At a critical separation, a "trap-induced shape resonance" between molecular bound states and a vibrational eigenstate of the trap can occur. This resonance leads to an avoided crossing in the eigenspectrum as a function of separation. We investigate how this new resonance can be employed for quantum control.

Poul Jessen, Ivan Deutsch, R. Stock

Poul Jessen, Ivan Deutsch, R. Stock

Peng Xu, Jiaheng Yang, Min Liu +7 more

Two-atom systems in small traps are of fundamental interest for understanding the role of interactions in degenerate cold gases and for the creation of quantum gates in quantum information processing with single-atom traps. One of the key quantities is the inelastic relaxation (decay) time when one of the atoms or both are in a higher hyperfine state. Here we measure this quantity in a heteronuclear system of (87)Rb and (85)Rb in a micro optical trap and demonstrate experimentally and theoretically the presence of both fast and slow relaxation processes, depending on the choice of the initial hyperfine states. This experimental method allows us to single out a particular relaxation process thus provides an extremely clean platform for collisional physics studies. Our results have also implications for engineering of quantum states via controlled collisions and creation of two-qubit quantum gates.