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arXiv · 2610.12406

Local polarization control of optical tweezer arrays

Xiangkai Sun·Richard Bing-Shiun Tsai·Andrew Winnicki·Yuan Le·Kon H. Leung·Nelson Darkwah Oppong·Manuel Endres
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Abstract

Optical tweezer arrays trapping ultracold atoms and molecules are a versatile quantum science platform with broad impact in quantum simulation, quantum computation, and quantum metrology. The polarization dependence of anisotropic vector and tensor light shifts offers a degree of freedom for precise quantum state engineering of trapped particles. Similarly, state-selective operations depend on the polarization of the addressing light through the atom--light coupling strength. Yet, methods for controlling the polarization of individual tweezers or local addressing beams remain an experimental challenge. Here, we demonstrate independent, site-resolved linear polarization rotation across an optical tweezer array by exploiting the local birefringence tunability of a spatial light modulator. Applying this capability to an array of $^{88}\rm{Sr}$ atoms, we homogenize differential light shifts imparted by the 813-nm tweezers to the narrow ${^1{\rm S}_0}\leftrightarrow{^3{\rm P}_1}$ transition, enabling sideband cooling under a magic-angle condition. Furthermore, we show dynamic transport of trapped atoms across distinct polarization zones with high survival and preserved coherence. Finally, we characterize tweezer polarization noise and demonstrate closed-loop stabilization referenced to the atomic transition frequency, reaching mrad-level stability. Our work establishes a technique for manipulating polarization-sensitive atomic and molecular transitions in tweezer architectures, with immediate applications to optical tweezer clocks and multi-zone quantum processors.

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Xiangkai Sun, Richard Bing-Shiun Tsai, Andrew Winnicki, Yuan Le, Kon H. Leung, Nelson Darkwah Oppong, Manuel Endres. 2026-10-08. Local polarization control of optical tweezer arrays. https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.12406

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