The Quantum Walk Microscope

In this thesis, I present single-site detection of neutral atoms stored in a three-dimensional optical lattice using a numerical aperture objective lens (NAdesign = 0.92). The combination of high-resolution imaging with state-dependent trapping along two-direction of the lattice opens up the path towards quantum simulations via quantum walks. Suppressing the interactions of a quantum system with the environment is essential for all quantum simulation experiments. It demands a precise control of both the external magnetic (stray) fields and the polarization properties of laser beams inside the vacuum chamber. I designed a metal shielding to reduce magnetic field fluctuations and designed, assembled and characterized a novel ultra-high vacuum glass cell. The glass cell consists of special glass material and exhibits an ultra-low birefringence Δn of a few times 10^-8 to highly suppress polarization disturbances originating from stress birefringence in vacuum windows. Furthermore, anti-reflection coatings avoid reflections on all window surfaces. The cell hosts the assembled vacuum-compatible objective, that exhibits a diffraction limited resolution of up to 453 nm and allows to optically resolve the spacing of the optical lattice. Fluorescence images of single trapped atoms are used to characterize the imaging system. The filling, orientation and geometry of the optical lattice is precisely reconstructed using positions of atoms that can be determined from fluorescence images. Furthermore, I present a scheme to realize state-dependent transport and discuss its robustness against experimental imperfections in a technical implementation. This transport scheme enable the realization of discrete-time quantum walks with neutral atoms in two dimensions. These quantum walks pave the way towards the simulation of artificial magnetic fields and topologically protected edge states

7° Jornadas ITEE 2023

En esta publicación se reúnen los trabajos y resúmenes extendidos presentados en las VII Jornadas de Investigación, Transferencia, Extensión y Enseñanza (ITEE), de la Facultad de Ingeniería de la Universidad Nacional de La Plata, organizadas por la Secretaría de Investigación y Transferencia de dicha facultad, que tuvieron lugar entre el 25 y el 27 de abril de 2023.Facultad de Ingenierí