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J. Eschner

Publications and source records attributed to J. Eschner.

28 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Coupling a single atomic quantum bit to a high finesse optical cavity

The quadrupole S$_{1/2}$ -- D$_{5/2}$ optical transition of a single trapped Ca$^+$ ion, well suited for encoding a quantum bit of information, is coherently coupled to the standing wave field of a high finesse cavity. The coupling is verified by observing the ion's response to both spatial and temporal variations of the intracavity field. We also achieve deterministic coupling of the cavity mode to the ion's vibrational state by selectively exciting vibrational state-changing transitions and by controlling the position of the ion in the standing wave field with nanometer-precision.

quant-ph↗

Laser cooling with electromagnetically induced transparency: Application to trapped samples of ions or neutral atoms

A novel method of ground state laser cooling of trapped atoms utilizes the absorption profile of a three (or multi-) level system which is tailored by a quantum interference. With cooling rates comparable to conventional sideband cooling, lower final temperatures may be achieved. The method was experimentally implemented to cool a single Ca$^+$ ion to its vibrational ground state. Since a broad band of vibrational frequencies can be cooled simultaneously, the technique will be particularly useful for the cooling of larger ion strings, thereby being of great practical importance for initializing a quantum register based on trapped ions. We also discuss its application to different level schemes and for ground state cooling of neutral atoms trapped by a far detuned standing wave laser field.

quant-ph↗

Optical decay from a Fabry-Perot cavity faster than the decay time

The dynamical response of an optical Fabry-Perot cavity is investigated experimentally. We observe oscillations in the transmitted and reflected light intensity if the frequency of the incoupled light field is rapidly changed. In addition, the decay of a cavity-stored light field is accelerated if the phase and intensity of the incoupled light are switched in an appropriate way. The theoretical model by M. J. Lawrence em et al, JOSA B 16, 523 (1999) agrees with our observations.

physics.optics↗

Experiments towards quantum information with trapped Calcium ions

Ground state cooling and coherent manipulation of ions in an rf-(Paul) trap is the prerequisite for quantum information experiments with trapped ions. With resolved sideband cooling on the optical S1/2 - D5/2 quadrupole transition we have cooled one and two 40Ca+ ions to the ground state of vibration with up to 99.9% probability. With a novel cooling scheme utilizing electromagnetically induced transparency on the S1/2 - P1/2 manifold we have achieved simultaneous ground state cooling of two motional sidebands 1.7 MHz apart. Starting from the motional ground state we have demonstrated coherent quantum state manipulation on the S1/2 - D5/2 quadrupole transition at 729 nm. Up to 30 Rabi oscillations within 1.4 ms have been observed in the motional ground state and in the n=1 Fock state. In the linear quadrupole rf-trap with 700 kHz trap frequency along the symmetry axis (2 MHz in radial direction) the minimum ion spacing is more than 5 micron for up to 4 ions. We are able to cool two ions to the ground state in the trap and individually address the ions with laser pulses through a special optical addressing channel.

quant-ph↗

Sympathetic ground state cooling and coherent manipulation with two-ion-crystals

We have cooled a two-ion-crystal to the ground state of its collective modes of motion. Laser cooling, more specific resolved sideband cooling is performed sympathetically by illuminating only one of the two $^{40}$Ca$^+$ ions in the crystal. The heating rates of the motional modes of the crystal in our linear trap have been measured, and we found them considerably smaller than those previously reported by Q. Turchette {\em et. al.} Phys. Rev. A 61, 063418 (2000) in the case of trapped $^9$Be$^+$ ions. After the ground state is prepared, coherent quantum state manipulation of the atomic population can be performed. Within the coherence time, up to 12 Rabi oscillations are observed, showing that many coherent manipulations can be achieved. Coherent excitation of each ion individually and ground state cooling are important tools for the realization of quantum information processing in ion traps.

quant-ph↗

Experimental demonstration of ground state laser cooling with electromagnetically induced transparency

Ground state laser cooling of a single trapped ion is achieved using a technique which tailors the absorption profile for the cooling laser by exploiting electromagnetically induced transparency in the Zeeman structure of a dipole transition. This new method is robust, easy to implement and proves particularly useful for cooling several motional degrees of freedom simultaneously, which is of great practical importance for the implementation of quantum logic schemes with trapped ions.

quant-ph↗

Ground state cooling, quantum state engineering and study of decoherence of ions in Paul traps

We investigate single ions of $^{40}Ca^+$ in Paul traps for quantum information processing. Superpositions of the S$_{1/2}$ electronic ground state and the metastable D$_{5/2}$ state are used to implement a qubit. Laser light on the S$_{1/2} \leftrightarrow$ D$_{5/2}$ transition is used for the manipulation of the ion's quantum state. We apply sideband cooling to the ion and reach the ground state of vibration with up to 99.9% probability. Starting from this Fock state $|n=0>$, we demonstrate coherent quantum state manipulation. A large number of Rabi oscillations and a ms-coherence time is observed. Motional heating is measured to be as low as one vibrational quantum in 190 ms. We also report on ground state cooling of two ions.

quant-ph↗

Quantum state engineering on an optical transition and decoherence in a Paul trap

A single Ca+ ion in a Paul trap has been cooled to the ground state of vibration with up to 99.9% probability. Starting from this Fock state |n=0> we have demonstrated coherent quantum state manipulation on an optical transition. Up to 30 Rabi oscillations within 1.4 ms have been observed. We find a similar number of Rabi oscillations after preparation of the ion in the |n=1> Fock state. The coherence of optical state manipulation is only limited by laser and ambient magnetic field fluctuations. Motional heating has been measured to be as low as one vibrational quantum in 190 ms.

quant-ph↗

Laser Cooling of two trapped ions: Sideband cooling beyond the Lamb-Dicke limit

We study laser cooling of two ions that are trapped in a harmonic potential and interact by Coulomb repulsion. Sideband cooling in the Lamb-Dicke regime is shown to work analogously to sideband cooling of a single ion. Outside the Lamb-Dicke regime, the incommensurable frequencies of the two vibrational modes result in a quasi-continuous energy spectrum that significantly alters the cooling dynamics. The cooling time decreases nonlinearly with the linewidth of the cooling transition, and the effect of trapping states which may slow down the cooling is considerably reduced. We show that cooling to the ground state is possible also outside the Lamb-Dicke regime. We develop the model and use Quantum Monte Carlo calculations for specific examples. We show that a rate equation treatment is a good approximation in all cases.

quant-ph↗