TUNING UP RYDBERG ATOMS FOR QUANTUM INFORMATION APPLICATIONS
(May 11, 2015) Rydberg
atoms, atoms whose outermost electrons are highly excited but not ionized,
might be just the thing for processing quantum information. These outsized atoms can be sustained for a
long time in a quantum superposition condition---a good thing for creating
qubits---and they can interact strongly with other such atoms, making them
useful for devising the kind of logic gates needed to process information. Scientists at JQI and at other labs are
pursuing this promising research area.
One problem with Rydberg atoms is that in they are often
difficult to handle. One approach is to
search for special wavelengths---“magic wavelengths”—at which atoms can be
trapped and excited into Rydberg states without disturbing them. A new JQI
experiment bears out high-precision calculations predicting the existence of
specific magic wavelengths.