arXiv subjects

Aaron Holman

Publications and source records attributed to Aaron Holman.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

A Mid-Infrared Platform Based on Strontium Tweezer Arrays

Subwavelength atomic tweezer arrays, in which atoms can be positioned at distances smaller than their emission wavelength, have been proposed as a versatile platform to study collective emission phenomena, such as superradiance and subradiance. Experimentally, the realization of such arrays has been a challenge as typical emission wavelengths in the visible or near-infrared are short compared to typical tweezer spacings in the micrometer range. Here, we use $^{88}$Sr atoms in optical tweezer arrays to access a mid-infrared transition at 2,923 nm ($5s5p\:^{3}P_{2} \rightarrow\, 5s4d\:^{3}D_{3}$). We identify a magic trapping wavelength at 597.14(3) nm and demonstrate single-atom preparation and imaging with high fidelity. In addition, using 2,923 nm light, we demonstrate resolved-sideband cooling of tweezer-trapped strontium. Beyond enabling studies of collective emission phenomena in flexible arrangements of atoms, our platform opens novel opportunities for dipolar many-body physics and enhanced control over Rydberg dynamics and the strontium fine-structure qubit.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2026

Quantum Light Nano-Imaging

Entanglement and quantum correlations are central to the physics of quantum materials, yet they have remained notoriously difficult to access experimentally. Accessing these phenomena in solids requires quantum optical probes that operate at the native length and time scales of material excitations, below the diffraction limit of light. Developing the requisite tools has previously been infeasible due to the weak intensities of state-of-the-art quantum light sources and the inefficiency of light coupling in near-field light-matter interactions. In this work, we address these challenges and report the development of a quantum light scattering-type scanning near-field optical microscope (q-SNOM) that enables quantum-optical studies of solid-state systems with nanoscale spatial resolution. As a first demonstration, we visualize the self-interference of single hybrid light-matter polaritons in the prototypical van der Waals semiconductor MoS2. We also introduce a polaritonic time-of-flight metrology that exploits the temporal correlations among entangled photons to observe the quasiparticle propagation dynamics at femtosecond time scales. This work establishes a new experimental paradigm for exploring quantum effects in materials at the nanoscale.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2024

Trapping of Single Atoms in Metasurface Optical Tweezer Arrays

Optical tweezer arrays have emerged as a key experimental platform for quantum computation, quantum simulation, and quantum metrology, enabling unprecedented levels of control over single atoms and molecules. However, existing tweezer platforms have fundamental limitations in array geometry, size, and scalability. Here we demonstrate the trapping of single strontium atoms in optical tweezer arrays generated via holographic metasurfaces. We realize two dimensional arrays with more than 1000 trapped atoms, arranged in arbitrary geometries with trap spacings as small as 1.5 um. The arrays have a high uniformity in terms of trap depth, trap frequency, and positional accuracy, rivaling or surpassing existing approaches. This is enabled by highly efficient holographic metasurfaces fabricated from high-refractive index materials, silicon-rich silicon nitride and titanium dioxide. Leveraging sub-micrometer pixel sizes and high pixel densities, our platform allows scaling far beyond current capabilities. As a demonstration, we realize an optical tweezer array with 360,000 traps. These advances will facilitate tweezer-array based quantum applications that require large system sizes.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2022

Jet-Loaded Cold Atomic Beam Source for Strontium

We report on the design and characterization of a cold atom source for strontium (Sr) based on a two-dimensional magneto-optical trap (MOT) that is directly loaded from the atom jet of a dispenser. We characterize the atom flux of the source by measuring the loading rate of a three-dimensional MOT. We find loading rates of up to $10^{8}$ atoms per second. The setup is compact, easy to construct, and has low power consumption. It addresses the long standing challenge of reducing the complexity of cold beam sources for Sr, which is relevant for optical atomic clocks and quantum simulation and computing devices based on ultracold Sr.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2022

Metasurface Holographic Optical Traps for Ultracold Atoms

We propose metasurface holograms as a novel platform to generate optical trap arrays for cold atoms with high fidelity, efficiency, and thermal stability. We developed design and fabrication methodologies to create dielectric, phase-only metasurface holograms based on titanium dioxide. We experimentally demonstrated optical trap arrays of various geometries, including periodic and aperiodic configurations with dimensions ranging from 1D to 3D and the number of trap sites up to a few hundred. We characterized the performance of the holographic metasurfaces in terms of the positioning accuracy, size and intensity uniformity of the generated traps, and power handling capability of the dielectric metasurfaces. Our proposed platform has great potential for enabling fundamental studies of quantum many-body physics, and quantum simulation and computation tasks. The compact form factor, passive nature, good power handling capability, and scalability of generating high-quality, large-scale arrays also make the metasurface platform uniquely suitable for realizing field-deployable devices and systems based on cold atoms.

physics.optics↗