Quantum entanglement is the central resource in quantum information science applications including metrology, computation, and communication. A defect-free array of isolated, neutral particles with long-range, state-dependent interactions is an attractive architecture for scalable entanglement generation. In this talk, I will describe two platforms that offer long-range interactions: polar molecules, and atoms in highly-excited Rydberg states. I will focus on alkaline-earth atoms (AEAs), which also possess ultra-narrow ‘clock’ transitions for precision metrology. I will describe the techniques we pioneered for cooling and imaging single AEAs in optical tweezer arrays for the first time [1,2], as well as a new platform for metrology based on single-atom readout in an atomic array clock [3]. Further, I will discuss recent observations of high-fidelity control, detection, and entanglement using Rydberg states [4]. I will close with an outlook of future research directions.
[1] A. Cooper, JPC, et al., “Alkaline-Earth Atoms in Optical Tweezers”, Phys. Rev. X 8, 041055 (2018).
[2] JPC, et al., “2000-Times Repeated Imaging of Strontium Atoms in Clock-Magic Tweezer Arrays”, Phys. Rev. Lett. 122, 173201 (2019).
[3] I. S. Madjarov, …, JPC, et al., “An Atomic-Array Optical Clock with Single-Atom Readout”, Phys. Rev. X 9, 041052 (2019).
[4] I. S. Madjarov*, JPC*, et al., (*equal contribution), “High-Fidelity Control, Detection, and Entanglement of Alkaline-Earth Rydberg Atoms”, arXiv:2001.04455 (2020).
