Most Recent Preprints
Observation of a narrow inner-shell orbital transition in atomic erbium at 1299 nm
arXiv:2105.01438
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We report on the observation and coherent excitation of atoms on the narrow inner-shell orbital transition, connecting the erbium ground state [Xe]4f12(3H6)6s2 to the excited state [Xe]4f11(4I15/2)05d(5D3/2)6s2(15/2,3/2)07. This transition corresponds to a wavelength of 1299 nm and is optically closed. We perform high-resolution spectroscopy to extract the gJ-factor of the 1299-nm state and to determine the frequency shift for four bosonic isotopes. We further demonstrate coherent control of the atomic state and extract a lifetime of 178(19) ms which corresponds to a linewidth of 0.9(1) Hz. The experimental findings are in good agreement with our semi-empirical model. In addition, we present theoretical calculations of the atomic polarizability, revealing several different magic-wavelength conditions. Finally, we make use of the vectorial polarizability and confirm a possible magic wavelength at 532 nm.
Probing Topological Spin Liquids on a Programmable Quantum Simulator
arXiv:2104.04119
Electric field noise in a high-temperature superconducting surface ion trap
arXiv:2106.03945
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Scaling up trapped-ion quantum computers requires new trap materials to be explored. Here, we present experiments with a surface ion trap made from the high-temperature superconductor YBCO, a promising material for future trap designs. We show that voltage noise from superconducting electrode leads is negligible within the sensitivity SV=9×10−20V2Hz−1 of our setup, and for lead dimensions typical for advanced trap designs. Furthermore, we investigate the frequency and temperature dependence of electric field noise above a YBCO surface. We find a 1/f spectral dependence of the noise and a non-trivial temperature dependence, with a plateau in the noise stretching over roughly 60K. The onset of the plateau coincides with the superconducting transition, indicating a connection between the dominant noise and the YBCO trap material. We exclude the YBCO bulk as origin of the noise and suggest further experiments to decide between the two remaining options explaining the observed temperature dependence: noise screening within the superconducting phase, or surface noise activated by the YBCO bulk through some unknown mechanism.
Quantum Variational Learning of the Entanglement Hamiltonian
arXiv:2105.04317
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Learning the structure of the entanglement Hamiltonian (EH) is central to characterizing quantum many-body states in analog quantum simulation. We describe a protocol where spatial deformations of the many-body Hamiltonian, physically realized on the quantum device, serve as an efficient variational ansatz for a local EH. Optimal variational parameters are determined in a feedback loop, involving quench dynamics with the deformed Hamiltonian as a quantum processing step, and classical optimization. We simulate the protocol for the ground state of Fermi-Hubbard models in quasi-1D geometries, finding excellent agreement of the EH with Bisognano-Wichmann predictions. Subsequent on-device spectroscopy enables a direct measurement of the entanglement spectrum, which we illustrate for a Fermi Hubbard model in a topological phase.
Coherent control of a symmetry-engineered multi-qubit dark state in waveguide quantum electrodynamics
arXiv:2106.05623
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Quantum information is typically encoded in the state of a qubit that is decoupled from the environment. In contrast, waveguide quantum electrodynamics studies qubits coupled to a mode continuum, exposing them to a loss channel and causing quantum information to be lost before coherent operations can be performed. Here we restore coherence by realizing a dark state that exploits symmetry properties and interactions between four qubits. Dark states decouple from the waveguide and are thus a valuable resource for quantum information but also come with a challenge: they cannot be controlled by the waveguide drive. We overcome this problem by designing a drive that utilizes the symmetry properties of the collective state manifold allowing us to selectively drive both bright and dark states. The decay time of the dark state exceeds that of the waveguide-limited single qubit by more than two orders of magnitude. Spectroscopy on the second excitation manifold provides further insight into the level structure of the hybridized system. Our experiment paves the way for implementations of quantum many-body physics in waveguides and the realization of quantum information protocols using decoherence-free subspaces.
Quantum Electrodynamics with a Nonmoving Dielectric Sphere: Quantizing Mie Scattering
arXiv:2106.07975
Measurement of the dynamic polarizability of Dy atoms near the 626-nm intercombination line
arXiv:2103.11867
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More Preprints
We report on measurements of the anisotropic dynamical polarizability of Dy near the 626-nm intercombination line, employing modulation spectroscopy in a one-dimensional optical lattice. To eliminate large systematic uncertainties resulting from the limited knowledge of the spatial intensity distribution, we use K as a reference species with accurately known polarizability. This method can be applied independently of the sign of the polarizability, i.e. for both attractive and repulsive optical fields on both sides of a resonance. By variation of the laser polarization we extract the scalar and the tensorial part. To characterize the strength of the transition, we also derive the natural linewidth. We find our result in excellent agreement with literature values, which provide a sensitive benchmark for the accuracy of our method. In addition we demonstrate optical dipole trapping on the intercombination line, confirming the expected long lifetimes and low heating rates. This provides an additional tool to tailor optical potentials for Dy atoms and for the species-specific manipulation of atoms in the Dy-K mixture.
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Research Groups
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The research group led by Rainer Blatt investigates quantum processes in a system of few ions held in ion traps. The experiments aim at achieving complete control over all quantum degrees of freedom in...
Quantum Optics and Spectroscopy -
The research team led by Francesca Ferlaino focuses on the study of dipolar quantum phenomena, using strongly magnetic atomic species. In 2012, the group has created the first Bose-Einstein...
Dipolar Quantum Gases -
The research group led by R. GRIMM investigates ultracold particle systems consisting of optically trapped quantum gases at temperatures close to absolute zero. Because of their superb experimental...
Ultracold Atoms and Quantum Gases -
Gerhard Kirchmair’s research group works on superconducting circuits and their application for quantum computation and simulation. Superconducting Josephson junctions are used to realize the quantum...
Superconducting quantum circuits -
The research group led by Hannes Pichler studies quantum optical systems, quantum many-body physics and quantum information. The group aims at laying the theoretical foundations for next generation...
Many-Body Quantum Optics -
The research group led by Oriol Romero-Isart studies topics in the fields of theoretical quantum optics and quantum nanophysics in the context of quantum science and technology. One of the main...
Quantum Nanophysics, Optics and Information -
Wittgenstein awardee Peter Zoller’s research group studies topics in the fields of theoretical quantum optics and atomic physics as well as quantum information and condensed matter theory. The...
Quantum Optics