Sequential quantum-enhanced measurement with an atomic ensemble

We propose a quantum-enhanced iterative (with $K$ steps) measurement scheme based on an ensemble of $N$ two-level probes which asymptotically approaches the Heisenberg limit $\delta_K \propto R^{-K/(K+1)}$, $R$ the number of quantum resources. The protocol is inspired by Kitaev's phase estimation algorithm and involves only collective manipulation and measurement of the ensemble. The iterative procedure takes the shot-noise limited primary measurement with precision $\delta_1\propto N^{-1/2}$ to increasingly precise results $\delta_K\propto N^{-K/2}$. A straightforward implementation of the algorithm makes use of a two-component atomic cloud of Bosons in the precision measurement of a magnetic field.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figur

Long Distance Coupling of a Quantum Mechanical Oscillator to the Internal States of an Atomic Ensemble

We propose and investigate a hybrid optomechanical system consisting of a micro-mechanical oscillator coupled to the internal states of a distant ensemble of atoms. The interaction between the systems is mediated by a light field which allows to couple the two systems in a modular way over long distances. Coupling to internal degrees of freedom of atoms opens up the possibility to employ high-frequency mechanical resonators in the MHz to GHz regime, such as optomechanical crystal structures, and to benefit from the rich toolbox of quantum control over internal atomic states. Previous schemes involving atomic motional states are rather limited in both of these aspects. We derive a full quantum model for the effective coupling including the main sources of decoherence. As an application we show that sympathetic ground-state cooling and strong coupling between the two systems is possible.Comment: 14 pages, 5 figure

Strong coupling of a mechanical oscillator and a single atom

We propose and analyze a setup to achieve strong coupling between a single trapped atom and a mechanical oscillator. The interaction between the motion of the atom and the mechanical oscillator is mediated by a quantized light field in a laser driven high-finesse cavity. In particular, we show that high fidelity transfer of quantum states between the atom and the mechanical oscillator is in reach for existing or near future experimental parameters. Our setup provides the basic toolbox for coherent manipulation, preparation and measurement of micro- and nanomechanical oscillators via the tools of atomic physics.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, minro changes, accepted by PR

Resonant coupling of a Bose-Einstein condensate to a micromechanical oscillator

We report experiments in which the vibrations of a micromechanical oscillator are coupled to the motion of Bose-condensed atoms in a trap. The interaction relies on surface forces experienced by the atoms at about one micrometer distance from the mechanical structure. We observe resonant coupling to several well-resolved mechanical modes of the condensate. Coupling via surface forces does not require magnets, electrodes, or mirrors on the oscillator and could thus be employed to couple atoms to molecular-scale oscillators such as carbon nanotubes.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figure

Atom chip based generation of entanglement for quantum metrology

Atom chips provide a versatile `quantum laboratory on a microchip' for experiments with ultracold atomic gases. They have been used in experiments on diverse topics such as low-dimensional quantum gases, cavity quantum electrodynamics, atom-surface interactions, and chip-based atomic clocks and interferometers. A severe limitation of atom chips, however, is that techniques to control atomic interactions and to generate entanglement have not been experimentally available so far. Such techniques enable chip-based studies of entangled many-body systems and are a key prerequisite for atom chip applications in quantum simulations, quantum information processing, and quantum metrology. Here we report experiments where we generate multi-particle entanglement on an atom chip by controlling elastic collisional interactions with a state-dependent potential. We employ this technique to generate spin-squeezed states of a two-component Bose-Einstein condensate and show that they are useful for quantum metrology. The observed 3.7 dB reduction in spin noise combined with the spin coherence imply four-partite entanglement between the condensate atoms and could be used to improve an interferometric measurement by 2.5 dB over the standard quantum limit. Our data show good agreement with a dynamical multi-mode simulation and allow us to reconstruct the Wigner function of the spin-squeezed condensate. The techniques demonstrated here could be directly applied in chip-based atomic clocks which are currently being set up

Bright gap solitons of atoms with repulsive interaction

We report on the first experimental observation of bright matter-wave solitons for 87Rb atoms with repulsive atom-atom interaction. This counter intuitive situation arises inside a weak periodic potential, where anomalous dispersion can be realized at the Brillouin zone boundary. If the coherent atomic wavepacket is prepared at the corresponding band edge a bright soliton is formed inside the gap. The strength of our system is the precise control of preparation and real time manipulation, allowing the systematic investigation of gap solitons.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

An optical lattice on an atom chip

Optical dipole traps and atom chips are two very powerful tools for the quantum manipulation of neutral atoms. We demonstrate that both methods can be combined by creating an optical lattice potential on an atom chip. A red-detuned laser beam is retro-reflected using the atom chip surface as a high-quality mirror, generating a vertical array of purely optical oblate traps. We load thermal atoms from the chip into the lattice and observe cooling into the two-dimensional regime where the thermal energy is smaller than a quantum of transverse excitation. Using a chip-generated Bose-Einstein condensate, we demonstrate coherent Bloch oscillations in the lattice.Comment: 3 pages, 2 figure

Microwave potentials and optimal control for robust quantum gates on an atom chip

We propose a two-qubit collisional phase gate that can be implemented with available atom chip technology, and present a detailed theoretical analysis of its performance. The gate is based on earlier phase gate schemes, but uses a qubit state pair with an experimentally demonstrated, very long coherence lifetime. Microwave near-fields play a key role in our implementation as a means to realize the state-dependent potentials required for conditional dynamics. Quantum control algorithms are used to optimize gate performance. We employ circuit configurations that can be built with current fabrication processes, and extensively discuss the impact of technical noise and imperfections that characterize an actual atom chip. We find an overall infidelity compatible with requirements for fault-tolerant quantum computation

Quantum computing implementations with neutral particles

We review quantum information processing with cold neutral particles, that is, atoms or polar molecules. First, we analyze the best suited degrees of freedom of these particles for storing quantum information, and then we discuss both single- and two-qubit gate implementations. We focus our discussion mainly on collisional quantum gates, which are best suited for atom-chip-like devices, as well as on gate proposals conceived for optical lattices. Additionally, we analyze schemes both for cold atoms confined in optical cavities and hybrid approaches to entanglement generation, and we show how optimal control theory might be a powerful tool to enhance the speed up of the gate operations as well as to achieve high fidelities required for fault tolerant quantum computation.Comment: 19 pages, 12 figures; From the issue entitled "Special Issue on Neutral Particles