No Arabic abstract
Developing the isolation and control of ultracold atomic systems to the level of single quanta has led to significant advances in quantum sensing, yet demonstrating a quantum advantage in real world applications by harnessing entanglement remains a core task. Here, we realize a many-body quantum-enhanced sensor to detect weak displacements and electric fields using a large crystal of $sim 150$ trapped ions. The center of mass vibrational mode of the crystal serves as high-Q mechanical oscillator and the collective electronic spin as the measurement device. By entangling the oscillator and the collective spin before the displacement is applied and by controlling the coherent dynamics via a many-body echo we are able to utilize the delicate spin-motion entanglement to map the displacement into a spin rotation such that we avoid quantum back-action and cancel detrimental thermal noise. We report quantum enhanced sensitivity to displacements of $8.8 pm 0.4~$dB below the standard quantum limit and a sensitivity for measuring electric fields of $240pm10~mathrm{nV}mathrm{m}^{-1}$ in $1$ second ($240~mathrm{nV}mathrm{m}^{-1}/sqrt{mathrm{Hz}}$).
We propose a new scalable architecture for trapped ion quantum computing that combines optical tweezers delivering qubit state-dependent local potentials with oscillating electric fields. Since the electric field allows for long-range qubit-qubit interactions mediated by the center-of-mass motion of the ion crystal alone, it is inherently scalable to large ion crystals. Furthermore, our proposed scheme does not rely on either ground state cooling or the Lamb-Dicke approximation. We study the effects of imperfect cooling of the ion crystal, as well as the role of unwanted qubit-motion entanglement, and discuss the prospects of implementing the state-dependent tweezers in the laboratory.
In recent years, arrays of atomic ions in a linear RF trap have proven to be a particularly successful platform for quantum simulation. However, a wide range of quantum models and phenomena have, so far, remained beyond the reach of such simulators. In this work we introduce a technique that can substantially extend this reach using an external field gradient along the ion chain and a global, uniform driving field. The technique can be used to generate both static and time-varying synthetic gauge fields in a linear chain of trapped ions, and enables continuous simulation of a variety of coupling geometries and topologies, including periodic boundary conditions and high dimensional Hamiltonians. We describe the technique, derive the corresponding effective Hamiltonian, propose a number of variations, and discuss the possibility of scaling to quantum-advantage sized simulators. Additionally, we suggest several possible implementations and briefly examine two: the Aharonov-Bohm ring and the frustrated triangular ladder.
We present a cryogenic ion trapping system designed for large scale quantum simulation of spin models. Our apparatus is based on a segmented-blade ion trap enclosed in a 4 K cryostat, which enables us to routinely trap over 100 $^{171}$Yb$^+$ ions in a linear configuration for hours due to a low background gas pressure from differential cryo-pumping. We characterize the cryogenic vacuum by using trapped ion crystals as a pressure gauge, measuring both inelastic and elastic collision rates with the molecular background gas. We demonstrate nearly equidistant ion spacing for chains of up to 44 ions using anharmonic axial potentials. This reliable production and lifetime enhancement of large linear ion chains will enable quantum simulation of spin models that are intractable with classical computer modelling.
The hybrid approach to quantum computation simultaneously utilizes both discrete and continuous variables which offers the advantage of higher density encoding and processing powers for the same physical resources. Trapped ions, with discrete internal states and motional modes which can be described by continuous variables in an infinite dimensional Hilbert space, offer a natural platform for this approach. A nonlinear gate for universal quantum computing can be implemented with the conditional beam splitter Hamiltonian $|erangle langle e| ( a^{dagger} b + a b^{dagger})$ that swaps the quantum states of two motional modes, depending on the ions internal state. We realize such a gate and demonstrate its applications for quantum state overlap measurements, single-shot parity measurement, and generation of NOON states.
We present a method of sensing AC magnetic fields. The method is based on the construction of a robust qubit by the application of continuous driving fields. Specifically, magnetic noise and power fluctuations of the driving fields do not operate within the robust qubit subspace, and hence, robustness to both external and controller noise is achieved. We consider trapped-ion based implementation via the dipole transitions, which is relevant for several types of ions, such as the $^{40}{rm{Ca}}^{+}$, $^{88}{rm{Sr}}^{+}$, and the $^{138}{rm{Ba}}^{+}$ ions. Taking experimental errors into account, we conclude that the coherence time of the robust qubit can be improved by up to $sim 4$ orders of magnitude compared to the coherence time of the bare states. We show how the robust qubit can be utilized for the task of sensing AC magnetic fields, leading to an improvement of $sim 2$ orders of magnitude of the sensitivity. In addition, we present a microwave based sensing scheme that is suitable for ions with a hyperfine structure, such as the $^{9}{rm{Be}}^{+}$,$^{25}{rm{Mg}}^{+}$,$^{43}{rm{Ca}}^{+}$,$^{87}{rm{Sr}}^{+}$,$^{137}{rm{Ba}}^{+}$,$^{111}{rm{Cd}}^{+}$,$^{171}{rm{Yb}}^{+}$, and the $^{199}{rm{Hg}}^{+}$ ions. This scheme enables the enhanced sensing of high frequency fields at the GHz level.