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Quantum coherence and entanglement with ultracold atoms in optical lattices

Nature volume 453, pages 1016–1022 (2008)Cite this article

Abstract

At nanokelvin temperatures, ultracold quantum gases can be stored in optical lattices, which are arrays of microscopic trapping potentials formed by laser light. Such large arrays of atoms provide opportunities for investigating quantum coherence and generating large-scale entanglement, ultimately leading to quantum information processing in these artificial crystal structures. These arrays can also function as versatile model systems for the study of strongly interacting many-body systems on a lattice.

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Figure 1: Formation of optical lattices.
Figure 2: Atom sorting in an optical lattice.
Figure 3: Imaging of single atoms in a three-dimensional optical lattice.
Figure 4: Demonstration of a SWAP operation using exchange interactions.
Figure 5: Superexchange coupling between atoms on neighbouring lattice sites.
Figure 6: Array of entangled Bell pairs obtained using optical superlattices.
Figure 7: Information processing in a one-way quantum computer.

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Acknowledgements

I thank H. Briegel for discussions, and the German Research Foundation (DFG), the European Union (through the OLAQUI and SCALA projects) and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) for support.

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  1. Institut für Physik, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, Mainz, 55099, Germany

    Immanuel Bloch

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Bloch, I. Quantum coherence and entanglement with ultracold atoms in optical lattices. Nature 453, 1016–1022 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature07126

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