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Bulletin of the American Physical Society

Laser cooling atoms to indistinguishability: Atomic Hong-Ou-Mandel interference and entanglement through spin exchange

Adam M. Kaufman

Published Jan 1, 2015• 3 citations
OpenAlex

Abstract

In this thesis, I describe the development of and scientific results from a new platform for creating ultracold atoms via single-atom control. We employ Raman-sideband cooling to isolated bosonic 87Rb atoms confined within sub-micron optical tweezers, yielding single particle three- dimensional ground-state fractions of 90%. We create multiple, independent, mobile optical tweezers, which simultaneously allows multi-particle studies with single-atom microscopy and highly tunable length-scales. We employ this toolset in both of the main experiments discussed in this thesis. In one experiment, we observe Hong-Ou-Mandel interference of two bosonic atoms, each of which is independently prepared in spatially separated optical tweezers. The interference we observe is a direct consequence of the purity of the single particle quantum states produced, and the indistinguishability of the atoms. In a second experiment, we introduce a spin-degree of freedom and exploit spin-exchange dynamics, driven by the quantum-statistics of the particles, to create a spin-entangled pair of spatially separated atoms.

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Two-particle quantum interference in tunnel-coupled optical tweezers

Adam M. Kaufman, Brian Lester, Collin Reynolds +5 more

The quantum statistics of atoms is typically observed in the behavior of an ensemble via macroscopic observables. However, quantum statistics modifies the behavior of even two particles. Here, we demonstrate near-complete control over all the internal and external degrees of freedom of two laser-cooled (87)Rb atoms trapped in two optical tweezers. This controllability allows us to observe signatures of indistinguishability via two-particle interference. Our work establishes laser-cooled atoms in optical tweezers as a promising route to bottom-up engineering of scalable, low-entropy quantum systems.

arXiv:1312.7182•Science•Jun 27, 2014•223 citations
In this thesis, I describe the development of and scientific results from a new platform for creating ultracold atoms via single-atom control. We employ Raman-sideband cooling to isolated bosonic 87Rb atoms confined within sub-micron optical tweezers, yielding single particle three- dimensional ground-state fractions of 90%. We create multiple, independent, mobile optical tweezers, which simultaneously allows multi-particle studies with single-atom microscopy and highly tunable length-scales. We employ this toolset in both of the main experiments discussed in this thesis. In one experiment, we observe Hong-Ou-Mandel interference of two bosonic atoms, each of which is independently prepared in spatially separated optical tweezers. The interference we observe is a direct consequence of the purity of the single particle quantum states produced, and the indistinguishability of the atoms. In a second experiment, we introduce a spin-degree of freedom and exploit spin-exchange dynamics, driven by the quantum-statistics of the particles, to create a spin-entangled pair of spatially separated atoms.
In this talk, I will discuss our pathway toward quantum simulations and computation with neutral atoms in arrays of optical tweezers cooled to their motional ground state. Initially, I will talk about two-atom interference experiments, e.g. the atomic analog to the Hong-Ou-Mandel effect, and how we create spin entangled states. I will then talk about how we scale our system to accommodate 80 single atoms, loaded into 100 traps while maintaining full single-atom control. For this efficient loading process, we control atomic collisions in the tweezers using grey molasses. When combined with ground-state cooling and atom-rearranging, this should allow us to form a micro-BEC with controlled atom number and entropy.
Experiments with ultracold atoms in optical lattices provide outstanding opportunities to realize exotic quantum states due to a high degree of tunability and control. In this thesis, I present experiments that extend this control from global parameters to the level of individual particles. \n\nUsing a quantum gas microscope for 87Rb, we have developed a single-site addressing scheme based on digital amplitude holograms. The system self-corrects for aberrations in the imaging setup and creates arbitrary beam profiles. We are thus able to shape optical potentials on the scale of single lattice sites and control the dynamics of individual atoms. \n\nWe study the role of quantum statistics and interactions in the Bose-Hubbard model on the fundamental level of two particles. Bosonic quantum statistics are apparent in the Hong-Ou-Mandel interference of massive particles, which we observe in tailored double-well potentials. These underlying statistics, in combination with tunable repulsive interactions, dominate the dynamics in single- and two-particle quantum walks. We observe highly coherent position-space Bloch oscillations, bosonic bunching in Hanbury Brown-Twiss interference and the fermionization of strongly interacting bosons.\n\nMany-body states of indistinguishable quantum particles are characterized by large-scale spatial entanglement, which is difficult to detect in itinerant systems. Here, we extend the concept of Hong-Ou-Mandel interference from individual particles to many-body states to directly quantify entanglement entropy. We perform collective measurements on two copies of a quantum state and detect entanglement entropy through many-body interference. We measure the second order Rényi entropy in small Bose-Hubbard systems and detect the buildup of spatial entanglement across the superfluid-insulator transition.\n\nOur experiments open new opportunities for the single-particle-resolved preparation and characterization of many-body quantum states.
In this thesis, I describe early experiments with a new platform that harnesses control over the full quantum state of individual 87Rb atoms to study out-of-equilibrium states of a few atoms placed in tailored optical potentials. We employ an enhanced loading technique that fills each well in 90% of loading attempts, image the configuration of the atoms, and then perform Raman sideband cooling that results in a 90% three-dimensional ground state fraction. Then, after initializing the spin of each atom, we can reconfigure the traps to initialize dynamics in a final optical potential of interest. For example, we can form a double well potential and observe the quantum interference of two atoms tunneling between the wells. Additionally, we have demonstrated the ability to coherently transfer atoms between wells and, by preparing two atoms in opposite spin states, have observed spin-exchange oscillations that periodically entangle the two atoms. I will also discuss plans and ongoing work to combine these capabilities with new techniques to gain more information from systems containing more atoms. In such systems, we wish to study how the spin-motional coupling of independently prepared atoms, in the presence of interactions, will lead to complex dynamics, such as in the Kondo lattice model.
Molecules, with their rich spectrum of internal states as well as strong and tunable dipolar interactions, are promising candidates for a broad range of experiments including quantum information, quantum chemistry, precision measurement and probing physics beyond the Standard Model, and quantum simulation of interacting many-body systems. At the same time, the complexity that made them attractive also poses a significant challenge to achieve a high level of quantum control that is required in many of their potential applications. Multiple approaches are being pursued for full quantum control of molecules including association of atomic gases and direct cooling of molecules, yet it remains challenging to control molecules at single particle level due to the difficulty in tuning the atom-atom interaction and laser cooling of molecules. In this thesis, we achieved full control on a single weakly bound ground state molecule created by coherent optical association from single atoms. We first discuss the trapping and imaging of the atoms in the optical tweezer and the cooling into a single quantum state in order to achieve the quantum control of atoms. Combining this control with the resolution and flexibility of tweezers. we developed a versatile platform to study interactions between single atoms and properties of single molecules, using precise optical spectroscopy on pairs of atoms in the tweezer. Based on these studies, we proposed a promising pathway for coherent all-optical creation of molecules and experimentally demonstrated full control on the molecule including all degrees of freedom.
Ultracold molecules are attractive candidates for various applications including ultracold chemistry, quantum information processing, quantum simulation and searches for physics beyond the standard model. Combined with optical tweezer techniques, an optical tweezer array of ultracold polar molecules holds promise for versatile quantum applications. Their long-lived molecular rotational states form robust qubits, while the long-range dipolar interaction between molecules provides quantum entanglement. In this thesis, we build a new generation experiment of optical tweezer array of ultracold CaF molecules. We optically transport the laser cooled and optically trapped molecules into a science glass cell using a hybrid method, where high numerical aperture optical access allows for tighter optical tweezers. In an array of these tight optical tweezers, we demonstrate dipolar spin-exchange interactions between single CaF molecules for the first time. We realize the spin-12\frac{1}{2}21​ quantum XY model by encoding an effective spin-12\frac{1}{2}21​ system into the rotational states of the molecules, and use it to generate a Bell state through an iSWAP operation. Conditioned on the verified existence of molecules in both tweezers at the end of the measurement, we obtain a Bell state fidelity of 0.89(6). Employing interleaved tweezer arrays, we demonstrate single site molecular addressability. To further improve the platform, cooling of the molecules to near the motional ground state is crucial for reducing various dephasings. We demonstrate Raman sideband cooling (RSC) of CaF molecules in optical tweezers to near their 3-D motional ground state, with a 3-D motional ground state probability of 54±18%54\pm18\%54±18% of the molecules that survive the RSC. This paves the way to increase molecular coherence times in optical tweezers for robust quantum information processing and simulation applications in the near future.
The quantum statistics of atoms is typically observed in the behavior of an ensemble via macroscopic observables. However, quantum statistics modifies the behavior of even two particles. Here, we demonstrate near-complete control over all the internal and external degrees of freedom of two laser-cooled (87)Rb atoms trapped in two optical tweezers. This controllability allows us to observe signatures of indistinguishability via two-particle interference. Our work establishes laser-cooled atoms in optical tweezers as a promising route to bottom-up engineering of scalable, low-entropy quantum systems.