Trapped atomic ions for quantum-limited metrology

David J. Wineland

Alastair G. Sinclair

Wayne M. Itano, James C Bergquist, J. J. Bollinger +5 more

Wineland, D J, Leibfried, D, Barrett, M D +21 more

We briefly discuss recent experiments on quantum information processing using trapped ions at NIST. A central theme of this work has been to increase our capabilities in terms of quantum computing protocols, but we have also applied the same concepts to improved metrology, particularly in the area of frequency standards and atomic clocks. Such work may eventually shed light on more fundamental issues, such as the quantum measurement problem.

Diego A. R. Dalvit, R. L. de Matos Filho, Fabricio Toscano

Sub-Planck phase-space structures in the Wigner function of the motional degree of freedom of a trapped ion can be used to perform weak force measurements with Heisenberg-limited sensitivity. We propose methods to engineer the Hamiltonian of the trapped ion to generate states with such small-scale structures, and we show how to use them in quantum metrology applications.

Ulrich Warring, Frederick Hakelberg, Philip Kiefer +2 more

Abstract A rich and powerful toolbox for individually trapped atomic ions is available for quantum information processing, including quantum metrology and quantum simulation, demonstrating control with highest fidelities. Building on this success, a novel architecture for analog quantum simulations aims at setting up fully controlled and reconfigurable quantum lattices by individually trapped ions in multi‐dimensional arrangements. In this article, an overview of recent developments and demonstrations of prototype operations is given. The features and limitations of the architecture are discussed and crucial steps toward mid and long‐term simulation applications are laid out.