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Physics

Alkaline Atoms Held with Optical Tweezers

Antoine Browaeys

Published Dec 28, 2018• 1 citation
Publisher

Abstract

Alkaline Atoms Held with Optical TweezersThree separate groups demonstrate the trapping of two-electron atoms in arrays of optical tweezers, opening up new opportunities for quantum simulation and many-body studies.by Antoine Browaeys * Q uantum technology is a very active field of research, in which the resources of quantum physics, such as superposition and entanglement, are utilized to perform tasks that are classically hard or impossible.The promises from this field are many, ranging from quantum computation of difficult mathematical problems to the building of more sensitive sensors.But to realize these possibilities, experimentalists have to engineer well-controlled quantum systems made of many individual elements that can interact with each other.Among the many platforms currently studied (ions, photons, electron spins, to name a few), neutral atoms have the advantage that they can be manipulated with high accuracy, and they are scalable in the sense that many thousands of atoms can be controlled.New experiments by three separate groups have

DOI
10.1103/physics.11.135

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Alkaline Atoms Held with Optical TweezersThree separate groups demonstrate the trapping of two-electron atoms in arrays of optical tweezers, opening up new opportunities for quantum simulation and many-body studies.by Antoine Browaeys * Q uantum technology is a very active field of research, in which the resources of quantum physics, such as superposition and entanglement, are utilized to perform tasks that are classically hard or impossible.The promises from this field are many, ranging from quantum computation of difficult mathematical problems to the building of more sensitive sensors.But to realize these possibilities, experimentalists have to engineer well-controlled quantum systems made of many individual elements that can interact with each other.Among the many platforms currently studied (ions, photons, electron spins, to name a few), neutral atoms have the advantage that they can be manipulated with high accuracy, and they are scalable in the sense that many thousands of atoms can be controlled.New experiments by three separate groups have
Trapped neutral atoms are one of the leading platforms for quantum information technologies, in particular for quantum computing, but scaling them to array sizes needed for utility-scale quantum computing is a major engineering challenge. Here we review optical metasurfaces as an enabling technology that provides fine control over the phase, amplitude, and polarization of light, with pixel counts far exceeding what is available with spatial light modulators (SLMs) and other active devices. The large pixel counts have recently led to demonstrations of arrays of optical tweezers with hundreds of thousands of sites and arrays of optical bottle-beams with complex three-dimensional trapping profiles. The flexibility and scalability of optical metasurfaces provides a route towards miniaturized, integrated, and highly scalable atomic experiments and instruments.
Atomic Physics Arrays of optical tweezers can be used to trap atoms, which can then be manipulated individually. Such arrays have shown promise in quantum simulation of many-body systems. Norcia et al. now demonstrate that they can also be used as a platform for optical clocks. The researchers lined up 10 optical tweezers in a one-dimensional array, where each tweezer held either one or zero atoms of strontium. The atoms were subjected to laser light whose frequency was tuned to a clock transition in strontium. By monitoring the number of atoms in each tweezer, the researchers measured a long coherence time of a few seconds. Increasing the number of tweezers should improve the figures of merit of this platform. Science , this issue p. [93][1] [1]: /lookup/doi/10.1126/science.aay0644
Neutral atoms trapped by laser light are among the most promising candidates for storing and processing information in a quantum computer or simulator. The application certainly calls for a scalable and flexible scheme for addressing and manipulating the atoms. We have now made this a reality by implementing a fast and versatile method to dynamically control the position of neutral atoms trapped in optical tweezers. The tweezers result from a spatial light modulator (SLM) controlling and shaping a large number of optical dipole-force traps. Trapped atoms adapt to any change in the potential landscape, such that one can rearrange and randomly access individual sites within atom-trap arrays.
Building up an optical clock Arrays of optical tweezers can be used to trap atoms, which can then be manipulated individually. Such arrays have shown promise in quantum simulation of many-body systems. Norcia et al. now demonstrate that they can also be used as a platform for optical clocks. The researchers lined up 10 optical tweezers in a one-dimensional array, where each tweezer held either one or zero atoms of strontium. The atoms were subjected to laser light whose frequency was tuned to a clock transition in strontium. By monitoring the number of atoms in each tweezer, the researchers measured a long coherence time of a few seconds. Increasing the number of tweezers should improve the figures of merit of this platform. Science , this issue p. 93