Quantum computing with neutral Yb atoms
Quantum computing with neutral atoms has progressed rapidly in recent years, combining large system sizes, flexible and dynamic connectivity, and quickly improving gate fidelities. The pioneering work in this field has been implemented using alkali atoms, primarily rubidium and cesium. However, divalent, alkaline-earth-like atoms such as ytterbium offer significant technical advantages. In this talk, I will present our progress on quantum computing using 171-Yb atoms, including high-fidelity imaging, nuclear spin qubits with extremely long coherence times, and two-qubit gates on nuclear spins using Rydberg states [1,2]. I will also discuss several unexpected benefits of alkaline-earth-atoms: an extremely robust and power-efficient local gate addressing scheme [3], and a novel approach to quantum error correction called “erasure conversion”, which has the potential to implement the surface code with a threshold exceeding 4%, using the unique level structure of 171-Yb to convert spontaneous emission events into erasure errors [4]. Time permitting, I will also discuss a new project to implement very high fidelity quantum computing and simulation using circular Rydberg states with 100-second lifetimes [5].
[1] S. Saskin et al, Phys. Rev. Lett. 122, 143002 (2019).
[2] A. P. Burgers et al, arXiv:2110.06902 (2021).
[3] S. Ma, A. P. Burgers, et al, arXiv: 2112.06799 (2021).
[4] Y. Wu, et al: arXiv:2201.03540 (2022).
[5] S. R. Cohen et al, PRX Quantum 2, 030322 (2021).
Bio: Dr. Jeff Thompson is an Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Princeton University. His research explores methods to gain control over individual atoms for computing, communications and sensing technology. In one research direction, he is using nanophotonic circuits to spatially isolate and address individual or small clusters of rare earth ion dopants in crystalline hosts for use as single photon sources and quantum memories. These are crucial ingredients for quantum repeater systems for quantum communications networks. In a second research direction, he is developing techniques to laser-cool and trap large arrays of atoms levitated in vacuum. The potential to create very uniform and homogeneous arrays with long-range photon-mediated interactions creates many possibilities for studies of quantum many-body physics and new quantum computing architectures.
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