Photon-Mediated Quantum Gate between Two Trapped Neutral Atoms in an Optical Cavity

Quantum logic gates are fundamental building blocks of quantum computers. Their integration into quantum networks requires strong qubit coupling to network channels, as can be realized with neutral atoms and optical photons in cavity quantum electrodynamics. Here we demonstrate that the long-range interaction mediated by a flying photon performs a gate between two stationary atoms inside an optical cavity from which the photon is reflected. This single step executes the gate in $2\,\mathrm{\mu s}$. We show an entangling operation between the two atoms by generating a Bell state with 76(2)% fidelity. The gate also operates as a CNOT. We demonstrate 74.1(1.6)% overlap between the observed and the ideal gate output, limited by the state preparation fidelity of 80.2(0.8)%. As the atoms are efficiently connected to a photonic channel, our gate paves the way towards quantum networking with multiqubit nodes and the distribution of entanglement in repeater-based long-distance quantum networks.Comment: 10 pages including appendix, 5 figure

Cavity Carving of Atomic Bell States

We demonstrate entanglement generation of two neutral atoms trapped inside an optical cavity. Entanglement is created from initially separable two-atom states through carving with weak photon pulses reflected from the cavity. A polarization rotation of the photons heralds the entanglement. We show the successful implementation of two different protocols and the generation of all four Bell states with a maximum fidelity of (90+-2)%. The protocol works for any distance between cavity-coupled atoms, and no individual addressing is required. Our result constitutes an important step towards applications in quantum networks, e.g. for entanglement swapping in a quantum repeater.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figures including Supplemen

Deterministic creation of entangled atom-light Schr\"odinger-cat states

Quantum physics allows for entanglement between microscopic and macroscopic objects, described by discrete and continuous variables, respectively. As in Schr\"odinger's famous cat gedanken experiment, a box enclosing the objects can keep the entanglement alive. For applications in quantum information processing, however, it is essential to access the objects and manipulate them with suitable quantum tools. Here we reach this goal and deterministically generate entangled light-matter states by reflecting a coherent light pulse with up to four photons on average from an optical cavity containing one atom. The quantum light propagates freely and reaches a remote receiver for quantum state tomography. We produce a plethora of quantum states and observe negative-valued Wigner functions, a characteristic sign of non-classicality. As a first application, we demonstrate a quantum-logic gate between an atom and a light pulse, with the photonic qubit encoded in the phase of the light field.Comment: includes Methods and Supplementary Informatio

Detecting an Itinerant Optical Photon Twice without Destroying It

Nondestructive quantum measurements are central for quantum physics applications ranging from quantum sensing to quantum computing and quantum communication. Employing the toolbox of cavity quantum electrodynamics, we here concatenate two identical nondestructive photon detectors to repeatedly detect and track a single photon propagating through a $60\,\mathrm{m}$ long optical fiber. By demonstrating that the combined signal-to-noise ratio of the two detectors surpasses each single one by about two orders of magnitude, we experimentally verify a key practical benefit of cascaded non-demolition detectors compared to conventional absorbing devices.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figure