With a resonant amplitude-modulation field on two Rydberg atoms, we propose a Rydberg antiblockade (RAB) regime, where the Rabi oscillation between collective ground and excited states is induced. A controlled-Z gate can be yielded through a Rabi cycle. Further, several common issues of the RAB gates are solved by modifying the parameter relation. The gate fidelity and the gate robustness against the control error are enhanced with a shaped pulse. The requirement of control precision of the Rydberg-Rydberg interaction strength is relaxed. In addition, the atomic excitation is restrained and therefore the gate robustness against the atomic decay is enhanced.
We investigate the collective aspects of Rydberg excitation in ultracold mesoscopic systems. Strong interactions between Rydberg atoms influence the excitation process and impose correlations between excited atoms. The manifestations of the collective behavior of Rydberg excitation are the many-body Rabi oscillations, spatial correlations between atoms as well as the fluctuations of the number of excited atoms. We study these phenomena in detail by numerically solving the many-body Schrëdinger equation.
We demonstrate Rabi flopping of small numbers of $\rm{^{87}Rb}$ atoms between ground and Rydberg states with $n\le 43$. Coherent population oscillations are observed for single atom flopping, while the presence of two or more atoms decoheres the oscillations. We show that these observations are consistent with van der Waals interactions of Rydberg atoms.
We report on the observation of Rabi oscillations to a Rydberg state on a timescale below one nanosecond in thermal rubidium vapor. We use a bandwidth-limited pulsed excitation and observe up to 6 full Rabi cycles within a pulse duration of ~ 4 ns. We find good agreement between the experiment and numerical simulations based on a surprisingly simple model. This result shows that fully coherent dynamics with Rydberg states can be achieved even in thermal atomic vapor thus suggesting small vapor cells as a platform for room temperature quantum devices. Furthermore the result implies that previou…
Motivated by experimental advances [e.g. A. Ga{ë}tan {\it et.al.} Nat. Phys. 5 115 (2009)] that the collective excitation of two Rydberg atoms was observed, we provide an elaborate theoretical study for the dynamical behavior of two-atom Rabi oscillations. In the large-intermediate-detuning case, the two-photon Rabi oscillation is found to be significantly affected by the strength of the interatomic van der Waals interaction. With a careful comparison of the exact numbers and values of the oscillation frequency, we propose a new way to determine the strength of excitation blockade, well agreei…
We use coherent excitation of 3-16 atom ensembles to demonstrate collective Rabi flopping mediated by Rydberg blockade. Using calibrated atom number measurements, we quantitatively confirm the expected $\sqrt{N}$ Rabi frequency enhancement to within 4%. The resulting atom number distributions are consistent with essentially perfect blockade. We then use collective Rabi $π$ pulses to produce ${\cal N}=1,2$ atom number Fock states with fidelities of 62% and 48% respectively. The ${\cal N}=2$ Fock state shows the collective Rabi frequency enhancement without corruption from atom number fluctuatio…
We propose a mechanism of unconventional Rydberg pumping (URP) via simultaneously driving each Rydberg atom by two classical fields with different strengths of Rabi frequencies. This mechanism differs from the general Rydberg blockade or Rydberg antiblockade since it is closely related to the ground states of atoms, i.e. two atoms in the same ground state are stable while two atoms in different ground states are resonantly excited. Furthermore, we find the URP can be employed to simplify some special quantum information processing tasks, such as implementation of a three-qubit controlled phase…
We propose a nonadiabatic non-Abelian geometric quantum operation scheme to realize universal quantum computation with mesoscopic Rydberg atoms. A single control atom entangles a mesoscopic ensemble of target atoms through long-range interactions between Rydberg states. We demonstrate theoretically that both the single qubit and two-qubit quantum gates can achieve high fidelities around or above 99.9% in ideal situations. Besides, to address the experimental issue of Rabi frequency fluctuation (Rabi error) in Rydberg atom and ensemble, we apply the dynamical-invariant-based zero systematic-err…
Hybrid quantum systems involving cold atoms and microwave resonators can enable cavity-mediated infinite-range interactions between atomic spin systems and realize atomic quantum memories and transducers for microwave to optical conversion. To achieve strong coupling of atoms to on-chip microwave resonators, it was suggested to use atomic Rydberg states with strong electric dipole transitions. Here we report on the realization of coherent coupling of a Rydberg transition of ultracold atoms trapped on an integrated superconducting atom chip to the microwave field of an on-chip coplanar waveguid…
Different from the conventional Rydberg antiblockade (RAB) regime that either requires weak Rydberg-Rydberg interaction (RRI), or compensates Rydberg-Rydberg interaction (RRI)-induced energy shift by introducing dispersive interactions, we show that RAB regime can be achieved by resonantly driving the transitions between ground state and Rydberg state under strong RRI. The Rabi frequencies are of small amplitude and time-dependent harmonic oscillation, which plays a critical role for the presented RAB. The proposed unconventional RAB regime is used to construct high-fidelity controlled-Z (CZ) …
We study the population dynamics in a two-atom setup in which each atom is driven independently by different light fields, but coupling the same Rydberg state. In particular, we look at how an offset in the Rabi frequencies between two atoms influences the dynamics. We find novel features such as amplifying the Rabi frequency of one atom, together with strong Rydberg-Rydberg interactions freezes the dynamics in the second atom. We characterize the Rydberg-biased freezing phenomenon in detail, with effective Hamiltonians obtained for various limits of the system parameters. In the absence of Ra…
An array of single Rydberg atoms driven by a frequency modulated light field is studied. The periodic modulation effectively modifies the Rabi coupling, leading to unprecedented dynamics in the presence of Rydberg-Rydberg interactions. They include state dependent population trapping, the Rydberg blockade for small and anti-blockades at large interaction strengths. Interestingly, the Schrieffer-wolf transformation reveals a fundamental process in Rydberg gases, correlated Rabi oscillations, arising from the long-range interactions, provides an alternative depiction for Rydberg blockade and it …
We show that Jaynes-Cummings dynamics can be observed in mesoscopic atomic ensembles interacting with a classical electromagnetic field in the regime of Rydberg blockade, where the time dynamics of the average number of Rydberg excitations in mesoscopic ensembles displays collapses and revivals typical of this model. As the frequency of Rabi oscillations between collective states of Rydberg blockaded ensembles depends on the number of interacting atoms, for randomly loaded optical dipole traps we predict collapses and revivals of Rabi oscillations. We have studied the effects of finite interac…
We study experimentally various physical limitations and technical imperfections that lead to damping and finite contrast of optically-driven Rabi oscillations between ground and Rydberg states of a single atom. Finite contrast is due to preparation and detection errors and we show how to model and measure them accurately. Part of these errors originates from the finite lifetime of Rydberg states and we observe its $n^3$-scaling with the principal quantum number $n$. To explain the damping of Rabi oscillations, we use simple numerical models, taking into account independently measured experime…
The collective effect of large amounts of atoms exhibit an enhanced interaction between light and atoms. This holds great interest in quantum optics, and quantum information. When a collective excited state of a group of atoms during Rabi oscillation is varying, the oscillation exhibits rich dynamics. Here, we experimentally observe a size-reduction effect of the Rydberg collective state during Rabi oscillation in cold atomic dilute gases. The Rydberg collective state was first created by the Rydberg quantum memory, and we observed a decreased oscillation frequency effect by measuring the time…
We investigate the dynamical Casimir effect and its detection with Rydberg atoms. The photons are created in a resonant cavity with a plasma mirror of a semiconductor slab which is irradiated by periodic laser pulses. The canonical Hamiltonian is derived for the creation and annihilation operators showing the explicit time-variation in the couplings, which originates from the external configuration such as a nonstationary plasma mirror. The number of created photons is evaluated as squeezing from the Heisenberg equations with the Hamiltonian. Then, the detection of the photons as the atomic ex…
Accurate quantum gates are basic elements for building quantum computers. There has been great interest in designing quantum logic gates by using blockade effect of Rydberg atoms recently. The fidelity and operation speed of these gates, however, are fundamentally limited by an intrinsic blockade error. Here we propose a type of quantum gates, which are based on Rydberg blockade effect, yet free from any blockade error. In contrast to the "blocking" method in previous schemes, we use Rydberg energy shift to realize a rational generalized Rabi frequency so that a $π$ phase for one input state o…
While the Rydberg-blockade regime provides the natural setting for creating $W$-type entanglement with cold neutral atoms, it is demonstrated here that a scalable entanglement resource of this type can even be obtained under completely different physical circumstances. To be more precise, a special instance of twisted $W$ states -- namely, $π$-twisted ones -- can be engineered in one-dimensional arrays of cold neutral atoms with Rydberg-dressed resonant dipole-dipole interaction. In particular, it is shown here that this is possible even when a (dressed) Rydberg excitation is coupled to the mo…
A quantum-feedback-based scheme is proposed for generating multipartite entanglements of Rydberg atoms in a dissipative optical cavity. The Rydberg blockade mechanism efficiently prevents double excitations of the system, which is further exploited to speed up the stabilization of an entangled state with a single Rydberg state excitation. The corresponding feedback operations are greatly simplified, since only one regular atom needs to be controlled during the whole process, irrespective of the number of particles. The form of entangled state is also adjustable via regulating the Rabi frequenc…
We propose a scheme that employs dissipation to deterministically generate entanglement in an ensemble of strongly interacting Rydberg atoms. With a combination of microwave driving between different Rydberg levels and a resonant laser coupling to a short lived atomic state, the ensemble can be driven towards a dark steady state that entangles all atoms. The long-range resonant dipole-dipole interaction between different Rydberg states extends the entanglement beyond the van der Walls interaction range with perspectives for entangling large and distant ensembles.
Numerically optimized amplitude-robust controlled-Z gate for ultracold neutral atoms with individual addressing capability
Rzhanov Institute of Semiconductor Physics SB RAS（拉扎诺夫半导体物理研究所西伯利亚分院）；Novosibirsk State University（新西伯利亚国立大学）；Institute of Laser Physics SB RAS（激光物理研究所西伯利亚分院）；Novosibirsk State Technical University（新西伯利亚国立技术大学）
We present the coherent excitation of a single Rubidium atom to the Rydberg state (58d3/2) using a two-photon transition. The experimental setup is described in detail, as well as experimental techniques and procedures. The coherence of the excitation is revealed by observing Rabi oscillations between ground and Rydberg states of the atom. We analyze the observed oscillations in detail and compare them to numerical simulations which include imperfections of our experimental system. Strategies for future improvements on the coherent manipulation of a single atom in our settings are given.
We propose a scheme for preparation of large-scale entangled $GHZ$ states and $W$ states with neutral Rydberg atoms. The scheme mainly depends on Rydberg antiblockade effect, i.e., as the Rydberg-Rydberg-interaction (RRI) strength and the detuning between the atom transition frequency and the classical laser frequency satisfies some certain conditions, the effective Rabi oscillation between the two ground states and the two excitation Rydberg states would be generated. The prominent advantage is that both two-multiparticle $GHZ$ states and two-multiparticle $W$ states can be fused in this mode…
We investigate the excitation dynamics of Rydberg atoms in ultracold atomic samples by expanding the excitation probability and the correlation function between excited atoms in powers of the isolated atom Rabi frequency $Ω$. In the Heisenberg picture, we give recurrence relations to calculate any order of the expansions, which ere expected to be well-behaved for arbitrarily strong interactions. For homogeneous large samples, we give the explicit form of the expansions, up to $Ω^4$, averaged over all possible random spatial distributions of atoms, for the most important cases of excitation pul…
High-fidelity entangling quantum gates based on Rydberg interactions are required for scalable quantum computing with neutral atoms. Their realization, however, meets a major stumbling block -- the motion-induced dephasing of the transition between the ground and Rydberg states. By using quantum interference between different detuned Rabi oscillations, we propose a practical scheme to realize a class of accurate entangling Rydberg quantum gates subject to a minimal dephasing error. We show two types of such gates, $U_{1}$ and $U_{2}$, in the form of $\text{diag}\{1, e^{iα}, e^{iγ}, e^{iβ}\}$, …
We realize a coherent transfer between a laser-accessible low-angular-momentum Rydberg state and the circular Rydberg level with maximal angular momentum. This transfer is induced by a radiofrequency field with a high-purity $σ^+$ polarization tuned at resonance on Stark transitions inside the hydrogenic Rydberg manifold. We observe over a few microseconds more than twenty coherent Rabi oscillations between the initial Rydberg state and the circular Rydberg level. We characterize in details these complex oscillations involving many Rydberg levels and find them to be in perfect agreement with a…
We consider a generalized Rabi model formed by two identical qubits interacting with a common oscillator mode. In the near resonance configuration where the oscillator frequency is close to the transition frequency of the qubit, we determine the ground state of the model approximately by using a variational method and a transformation method. Both methods are shown to provide good agreement with the exact numerical ground state for a range of coupling strength in the ultrastrong regime. In addition, we indicate how the accuracy of the approximation can be further improved by using perturbation…
We observe the nonlinearity of the Jaynes-Cummings (JC) ladder in the Autler-Townes spectroscopy of the hyperfine ground states for a Rydberg-dressed two-atom system. Here the role of the two-level system in the JC model is played by the presence or absence of a collective Rydberg excitation, and the bosonic mode manifests as the number $n$ of single atom spin flips, symmetrically distributed between the atoms. We measure the normal-mode splitting and $\sqrt{n}$ nonlinearity as a function of detuning and Rabi frequency, thereby experimentally establishing the isomorphism with the JC model.
Entangled states are crucial for modern quantum enabled technology which makes their creation key for future developments. In this paper, a robust quantum control methodology is presented to create entangled states of two typical classes, the W and the Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger (GHZ). It was developed from the analysis of a chain of alkali atoms $^{87}Rb $ interaction with laser pulses, which lead to the two-photon transitions from the ground to the Rydberg states with a predetermined magnetic quantum number. The methodology is based on the mechanism of two-photon adiabatic passage using ove…
In this report, we have studied exceptional spectra of the two-qubit quantum Rabi model in two situations. Firstly, an exceptional spectra is achieved in resonant condition, in which the frequencies of two qubit and photon field satisfy resonant relation. With transformed rotating-wave approximation (TRWA) method, the Rabi model can be mapped into the solvable formation in qubit-photon Fock states space. Based on the quantum supperconducting circuits experiment setup, the best value range of the system parameters are discussed. In the resonant station working window, the energy spectrums are c…
Single-Operation Rydberg Phase Gates via Dynamic Population Suppression
DEVCOM Army Research Laboratory（DEVCOM陆军研究实验室）；Department of Physics, Stevens Institute of Technology（史蒂文斯理工学院物理系）；Departamento de Química Física, Universidad Complutense（康普鲁顿大学物理化学系）
We propose a scheme for rapid generation of high fidelity steady state entanglement between a pair of atoms. A two-photon excitation process towards long-lived Rydberg states with finite pairwise interaction, a dark state interference effect in the individual atoms, and spontaneous emission from their short-lived excited states lead to rapid, dissipative formation of an entangled steady state. We show that for a wide range of physical parameters, this entangled state is formed on a time scale given by the strengths of coherent Raman and Rabi fields applied to the atoms, while it is only weakly…
Compared with the idea of universal quantum computation, a direct synthesis of a multiqubit logic gate can greatly improve the efficiency of quantum information processing tasks. Here we propose an efficient scheme to implement a three-qubit controlled-not (Toffoli) gate of neutral atoms based on unconventional Rydberg pumping. By adjusting the strengths of Rabi frequencies of driving fields, the Toffoli gate can be achieved within one step, which is also insensitive to the fluctuation of the Rydberg-Rydberg interaction. Considering different atom alignments, we can obtain a high-fidelity Toff…
Rydberg arrays merge the collective behavior of ordered atomic arrays with the controllability and optical nonlinearities of Rydberg systems, resulting in a powerful platform for realizing photonic many-body physics. As an application of this platform, we propose a protocol for quantum non-demolition (QND) photon counting. Our protocol involves photon storage in the Rydberg array, an observation phase consisting of a series of Rabi flops to a Rydberg state and measurements, and retrieval of the stored photons. The Rabi frequency experiences a $\sqrt{n}$ collective enhancement, where $n$ is the…
We investigate the possibilities for a deterministic conversion between two important types of maximally entangled multiqubit states, namely, $W$ and Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger (GHZ) states, in the Rydberg-blockade regime of a neutral-atom system where each atom is subject to four external laser pulses. Such interconversions between $W$ states and their GHZ counterparts have quite recently been addressed using the method of shortcuts to adiabaticity, more precisely techniques based on Lewis-Riesenfeld invariants [R.-H. Zheng {\em et al.}, Phys. Rev. A {\bf 101}, 012345 (2020)]. Motivated in p…
A two-level quantum system coherently driven by a resonant electromagnetic field oscillates sinusoidally between the two levels at frequency $Ω$ which is proportional to the field amplitude [1]. This phenomenon, known as the Rabi oscillation, has been at the heart of atomic, molecular and optical physics since the seminal work of its namesake and coauthors [2]. Notably, Rabi oscillations in isolated single atoms or dilute gases form the basis for metrological applications such as atomic clocks and precision measurements of physical constants [3]. Both inhomogeneous distribution of coupling str…
Optimized ancillary drive for fast Rydberg entangling gates
East China Normal University（华东师范大学）；Shanghai Jiao Tong University（上海交通大学）；Chongqing Institute of East China Normal University（华东师范大学重庆研究院）；Shanxi University（山西大学）
Resonant laser excitation of multiple Rydberg atoms are prohibited, leading to Rydberg blockade, when the long-range van der Waals interactions are stronger than the laser-atom coupling. Rydberg blockade can be violated, i.e. simultaneous excitation of more than one Rydberg atoms, by off-resonant laser excitation, causing an excitation antiblockade. Rydberg antiblockade gives rise to strongly correlated many-body dynamics and spin-orbit coupling, and also finds quantum computation applications. Instead of commonly used van der Waals interactions, we investigate antiblockade dynamics of two Ryd…
The competition between resonant optical excitation of Rydberg states of atoms and their strong, long-range van der Waals interaction results in spatial ordering of Rydberg excitations in a two-dimensional lattice gas, as observed in a recent experiment of Schauß et al. [Nature 491, 87 (2012)]. Here we use semiclassical Monte Carlo simulations to obtain stationary states for hundreds of atoms in finite-size lattices. We show the formation of regular spatial structures of Rydberg excitations in a system of increasing size, and find highly sub-Poissonian distribution of the number of Rydberg exc…
Rydberg atoms traversing a micromaser cavity one after the other can emerge in correlated states, and according to Copenhagen quantum mechanics this may lead to a violation of Bell's inequality, that is, to a Bell sum S>2. S is here calculated in various ideal physical situations including those with (1) different initial states of the atoms, (2) different free adjustable parameters, being either the phase or the turning angle of a classical radiation field put behind the cavity, and (3) either equal or different Rabi angles for successive atoms. The experiments are crucial for a realist inter…
We analyze excitation of two ground state atoms to a double Rydberg state by a two-photon chirped optical pulse in the regime of adiabatic rapid passage. For intermediate Rydberg-Rydberg interaction strengths, relevant for atoms separated by $\sim$ten $μ$m, adiabatic excitation can be achieved at experimentally feasible Rabi frequencies and chirp rates of the pulses, resulting in high transfer efficiencies. We also study the adiabatic transfer between ground and Rydberg states as a means to realize a controlled phase gate between atomic qubits.
Assembled arrays of individual atoms with Rydberg-mediated interactions provide a powerful platform for the simulation of many-body spin Hamiltonians as well as the implementation of universal gate-based quantum information processing. We demonstrate the first realization of Rydberg excitations and controlled interactions in microlens-generated multisite trap arrays of reconfigurable geometry. We utilize atom-by-atom assembly for the deterministic preparation of pre-defined 2D structures of rubidium Rydberg atoms with exactly known mutual separations and selectable interaction strength. By ada…
We present the experimental demonstration of interaction induced enhancement in Rydberg excitation or Rydberg anti-blockade in thermal atomic vapor. We have used optical heterodyne detection technique to measure Rydberg population due to two-photon excitation to the Rydberg state. The anti-blockade peak which doesn't satisfy the two-photon resonant condition is observed along with the usual two-photon resonant peak which can't be explained using the model with non-interacting three-level atomic system. A model involving two interacting atoms is formulated for thermal atomic vapor using the dre…
We present evidence for Rydberg-Rydberg interaction in a gas of rubidium atoms above room temperature. Rabi oscillations on the nanosecond timescale to different Rydberg states are investigated in a vapor cell experiment. Analyzing the atomic time evolution and comparing to a dephasing model we find a scaling with the Rydberg quantum number n that is consistent with van der Waals interaction. Our results show that the interaction strength can be larger than the kinetic energy scale (Doppler width) which is the requirement for realization of thermal quantum devices in the GHz regime.
Neutral atoms are promising for large-scale quantum computing, but accurate neutral-atom entanglement depends on large Rydberg interactions which strongly limit the interatomic distances. Via a phase accumulation in detuned Rabi cycles enabled by a Rydberg interaction of similar magnitude to the Rydberg Rabi frequency, we study a controlled-phase gate with an arbitrary phase and extend it to the controlled-NOT gate. The gates need only three steps for coupling one Rydberg state, depend on easily accessible van der Waals interaction that naturally arises between distant atoms, and have no rotat…
We present experiments on two-photon excitation of ${\rm ^{87}}$Rb atoms to Rydberg states. For this purpose, two continuous-wave (cw)-laser systems for both 780 nm and 480 nm have been set up. These systems are optimized to a small linewidth (well below 1 MHz) to get both an efficient excitation process and good spectroscopic resolution. To test the performance of our laser system, we investigated the Stark splitting of Rydberg states. For n=40 we were able to see the hyperfine levels splitting in the electrical field for different finestructure states. To show the ability of spatially select…
Here we use perturbation techniques based on the averaging method to investigate Rabi oscillations in cw and pulse-driven two-level systems (TLS's). By going beyond the rotating-wave approximation, especifically to second-order in perturbation, we obtain the Bloch-Siegert shift of the TLS resonant frequency, in which the resonant frequency increases with the driving field amplitude. This frequency shift implies that short resonant $π$-pulses in which the Rabi frequency is approximately 40\% or higher of the transition frequency do not achieve complete inversion in TLS's. Hence, guided by analy…
The quantum Rabi oscillations in a coherently driven quantum dot embedded in a high-Q doubly resonant semiconductor micro-cavity in the presence of a strong second-order nonlinear medium is investigated theoretically. It is shown that the second order nonlinearity effect the Rabi oscillations in a significant manner.
We study theoretically and experimentally the competing blockade and anti-blockade effects induced by spontaneously generated contaminant Rydberg atoms in driven Rydberg systems. These contaminant atoms provide a source of strong dipole-dipole interactions and play a crucial role in the system's behavior. We study this problem theoretically using two different approaches. The first is a cumulant expansion approximation, in which we ignore third-order and higher connected correlations. Using this approach for the case of resonant drive, a many-body blockade radius picture arises, and we find qu…
