Individually trapped 137Ba+ in an RF Paul trap is proposed as a qubit ca ndidate, and its various benefits are compared to other ionic qubits. We report the current experimental status of using this ion for quantum computation. Fut ure plans and prospects are discussed.
We propose an experimentally feasible scheme to achieve quantum computation based solely on geometric manipulations of a quantum system. The desired geometric operations are obtained by driving the quantum system to undergo appropriate adiabatic cyclic evolutions. Our implementation of the all-geometric quantum computation is based on laser manipulation of a set of trapped ions. An all-geometric approach, apart from its fundamental interest, promises a possible way for robust quantum computation.
Accurate values of electric dipole (E1) amplitudes along with their uncertainties for a number of transitions among low-lying states of Mg$^+$, Ca$^+$, Sr$^+$, and Ba$^+$ are listed by carrying out calculations using a relativistic all-order many-body method. By combining experimental wavelengths with these amplitudes, we quote transition probabilities, oscillator strengths and lifetimes of many short-lived excited states of the above ions. The uncertainties in these radiative properties are also quoted. We also give electric quadrupole (E2) and magnetic dipole (M1) amplitudes of the metastable states of the Ca$^+$, Sr$^+$, and Ba$^+$ ions by performing similar calculations. Using these calculated E1, E2 and M1 matrix elements, we have estimated the transition probabilities, oscillator strengths and lifetimes of a number of allowed and metastable states. These quantities are further compared with the values available from the other theoretical studies and experimental data in the literature. These data will be immensely useful for the astrophysical observations, laboratory analysis and simulations of spectral properties in the above considered alkaline-earth metal ions.
Measurement-based quantum computation (MBQC) represents a powerful and flexible framework for quantum information processing, based on the notion of entangled quantum states as computational resources. The most prominent application is the one-way quantum computer, with the cluster state as its universal resource. Here we demonstrate the principles of MBQC using deterministically generated graph states of up to 7 qubits, in a system of trapped atomic ions. Firstly we implement a universal set of operations for quantum computing. Secondly we demonstrate a family of measurement-based quantum error correction codes, and show their improved performance as the code length is increased. We show that all our graph states violate a multipartite Bell inequality and are therefore capable of information processing tasks that cannot be described by a local hidden variable model. The methods presented can directly be scaled up to generate graph states of several tens of qubits.
Atomic ions confined in multi-electrode traps have been proposed as a basis for scalable quantum information processing. This scheme involves transporting ions between spatially distinct locations by use of time-varying electric potentials combined with laser or microwave pulses for quantum logic in specific locations. We report the development of a fast multi-channel arbitrary waveform generator for applying the time-varying electric potentials used for transport and for shaping quantum logic pulses. The generator is based on a field-programmable gate array controlled ensemble of 16-bit digital-to-analog converters with an update frequency of 50 MHz and an output range of $pm$10 V. The update rate of the waveform generator is much faster than relevant motional frequencies of the confined ions in our experiments, allowing diabatic control of the ion motion. Numerous pre-loaded sets of time-varying voltages can be selected with 40 ns latency conditioned on real-time signals. Here we describe the device and demonstrate some of its uses in ion-based quantum information experiments, including speed-up of ion transport and the shaping of laser and microwave pulses.
Vibrational degrees of freedom in trapped-ion systems have recently been gaining attention as a quantum resource, beyond the role as a mediator for entangling quantum operations on internal degrees of freedom, because of the large available Hilbert space. The vibrational modes can be represented as quantum harmonic oscillators and thus offer a Hilbert space with infinite dimension. Here we review recent theoretical and experimental progress in the coherent manipulation of the vibrational modes, including bosonic encoding schemes in quantum information, reliable and efficient measurement techniques, and quantum operations that allow various quantum simulations and quantum computation algorithms. We describe experiments using the vibrational modes, including the preparation of non-classical states, molecular vibronic sampling, and applications in quantum thermodynamics. We finally discuss the potential prospects and challenges of trapped-ion vibrational-mode quantum information processing.