arXiv subjects

Conrad Roman

Publications and source records attributed to Conrad Roman.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Suppression of differential light shifts in ground and metastable trapped-ion qubits

In the presence of a magnetic field, hyperfine clock qubits can acquire a vector differential light shift that can be tuned via polarization to suppress the total differential light shift of high-power, off-resonant laser light. We experimentally measure this "magic" polarization condition, suppressing differential light shifts in both the ${}^2\mathrm{S}_{1/2}$ ground and ${}^2\mathrm{F}_{7/2}^o$ metastable clock qubits of $^{171}\mathrm{Yb}^+$. We present calculations of the minimum bias magnetic fields required to suppress differential light shifts in the ground state clock qubits of commonly trapped ion species, finding that they are below the strengths of fields already typically present in experiments. We further present methods for metastable clock-qubit control in $^{171}\mathrm{Yb}^+$, demonstrating a state preparation and measurement infidelity of $2.9^{+3.0}_{-1.5}\times10^{-4}$ ($-35 \pm 4 \, \mathrm{dB}$).

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2024

The computational power of random quantum circuits in arbitrary geometries

Empirical evidence for a gap between the computational powers of classical and quantum computers has been provided by experiments that sample the output distributions of two-dimensional quantum circuits. Many attempts to close this gap have utilized classical simulations based on tensor network techniques, and their limitations shed light on the improvements to quantum hardware required to frustrate classical simulability. In particular, quantum computers having in excess of $\sim 50$ qubits are primarily vulnerable to classical simulation due to restrictions on their gate fidelity and their connectivity, the latter determining how many gates are required (and therefore how much infidelity is suffered) in generating highly-entangled states. Here, we describe recent hardware upgrades to Quantinuum's H2 quantum computer enabling it to operate on up to $56$ qubits with arbitrary connectivity and $99.843(5)\%$ two-qubit gate fidelity. Utilizing the flexible connectivity of H2, we present data from random circuit sampling in highly connected geometries, doing so at unprecedented fidelities and a scale that appears to be beyond the capabilities of state-of-the-art classical algorithms. The considerable difficulty of classically simulating H2 is likely limited only by qubit number, demonstrating the promise and scalability of the QCCD architecture as continued progress is made towards building larger machines.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2021

Weak dissipation for high fidelity qubit state preparation and measurement

Highly state-selective, weakly dissipative population transfer is used to irreversibly move the population of one ground state qubit level of an atomic ion to an effectively stable excited manifold with high fidelity. Subsequent laser interrogation accurately distinguishes these electronic manifolds, and we demonstrate a total qubit state preparation and measurement (SPAM) inaccuracy $\epsilon_\mathrm{SPAM} < 1.7 \times 10^{-4}$ ($-38 \mbox{ dB}$), limited by imperfect population transfer between qubit eigenstates. We show experimentally that full transfer would yield an inaccuracy less than $8.0 \times 10^{-5}$ ($-41 \mbox{ dB}$). The high precision of this method revealed a rare ($\approx 10^{-4}$) magnetic dipole decay induced error that we demonstrate can be corrected by driving an additional transition. Since this technique allows fluorescence collection for effectively unlimited periods, high fidelity qubit SPAM is achievable even with limited optical access and low quantum efficiency.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2020

Hyperfine structure of $^{173}\mathrm{Yb}^+$: toward resolving the $^{173}\mathrm{Yb}$ nuclear octupole moment puzzle

Hyperfine structure (HFS) of atomic energy levels arises due to interactions of atomic electrons with a hierarchy of nuclear multipole moments, including magnetic dipole, electric quadrupole and higher rank moments. Recently, a determination of the magnetic octupole moment of the $^{173}\mathrm{Yb}$ nucleus was reported from HFS measurements in neutral ${}^{173}\mathrm{Yb}$ [PRA 87, 012512 (2013)], and is four orders of magnitude larger than the nuclear theory prediction. Considering this substantial discrepancy between the spectroscopically extracted value and nuclear theory, here we propose to use an alternative system to resolve this tension, a singly charged ion of the same $^{173}\mathrm{Yb}$ isotope. Utilizing the substantial suite of tools developed around $\mathrm{Yb}^+$ for quantum information applications, we propose to extract nuclear octupole and hexadecapole moments from measuring hyperfine splittings in the extremely long lived first excited state ($4f^{13}(^2\!F^{o})6s^2$, $J=7/2$) of $^{173}\mathrm{Yb}^+$. We present results of atomic structure calculations in support of the proposed measurements.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2019

Coherent control for qubit state readout

Short pulses from mode-locked lasers can produce background-free atomic fluorescence by allowing temporal separation of the prompt incidental scatter from the subsequent atomic emission. We use this to improve quantum state detection of optical-frequency and electron-shelved trapped ion qubits by more than 2 orders of magnitude. For direct detection of qubits defined on atomic hyperfine structure, however, the large bandwidth of short pulses is greater than the hyperfine splitting, and repeated excitation is not qubit state selective. Here, we show that the state resolution needed for projective quantum measurement of hyperfine qubits can be recovered by applying techniques from coherent control to the orbiting valence electron of the queried ion. We demonstrate electron wavepacket interference to allow readout of the original qubit state using broadband pulses, even in the presence of large amounts of background laser scatter.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2017

Phonon lasing from optical frequency comb illumination of a trapped ion

An atomic transition can be addressed by a single tooth of an optical frequency comb if the excited state lifetime ($\tau$) is significantly longer than the pulse repetition period ($T_\mathrm{r}$). In the crossover regime between fully-resolved and unresolved comb teeth ($\tau \lessapprox T_\mathrm{r}$), we observe Doppler cooling of a pre-cooled trapped atomic ion by a single tooth of a frequency-doubled optical frequency comb. We find that for initially hot ions, a multi-tooth effect gives rise to lasing of the ion's harmonic motion in the trap, verified by acoustic injection locking. The gain saturation of this phonon laser action leads to a comb of steady-state oscillation amplitudes, allowing hot ions to be loaded directly into the trap and laser cooled to crystallization despite the presence of hundreds of blue-detuned teeth.

physics.atom-ph↗