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Johannes Zeiher

Publications and source records attributed to Johannes Zeiher.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

High-fidelity detection of large-scale atom arrays in an optical lattice

Recent advances in quantum simulation based on neutral atoms have largely benefited from high-resolution, single-atom sensitive imaging techniques. A variety of approaches have been developed to achieve such local detection of atoms in optical lattices or optical tweezers. For alkaline-earth and alkaline-earth-like atoms, the presence of narrow optical transitions opens up the possibility of performing novel types of Sisyphus cooling, where the cooling mechanism originates from the capability to spatially resolve the differential optical level shifts in the trap potential. Up to now, it has been an open question whether high-fidelity imaging could be achieved in a "repulsive Sisyphus" configuration, where the trap depth of the ground state exceeds that of the excited state involved in cooling. Here, we demonstrate high-fidelity ($99.971(1)\%$) and high-survival ($99.80(5)\%$) imaging of strontium atoms using repulsive Sisyphus cooling. We use an optical lattice as a pinning potential for atoms in a large-scale tweezer array with up to $399$ tweezers and show repeated, high-fidelity lattice-tweezer-lattice transfers. We furthermore demonstrate loading the lattice with approximately 10000 atoms directly from the MOT and scalable imaging over $>10000$ lattice sites with a combined survival probability and classification fidelity better than $99.2\%$. Our lattice thus serves as a locally addressable and sortable reservoir for continuous refilling of optical tweezer arrays in the future.

physics.atom-ph↗

Realization of a Rydberg-dressed extended Bose Hubbard model

The competition of different length scales in quantum many-body systems leads to various novel phenomena, including the emergence of correlated dynamics or non-local order. To access and investigate such effects in an itinerant lattice-based quantum simulator, it has been proposed to introduce tunable extended-range interactions using off-resonant optical coupling to Rydberg states. However, experimental realizations of such "Rydberg dressing" have so far mostly concentrated on spin systems without motion. Here, we overcome a number of experimental challenges limiting previous work and realize an effective one-dimensional extended Bose-Hubbard model (eBHM). Harnessing our quantum gas microscope, we probe the correlated out-of-equilibrium dynamics of extended-range repulsively-bound pairs at low filling, and kinetically-constrained "hard rods" at half filling. Near equilibrium, we observe density ordering when adiabatically turning on the extended-range interactions. Our results demonstrate the versatility of Rydberg dressing in engineering itinerant optical lattice-based quantum simulators and pave the way to realizing novel light-controlled extended-range interacting quantum many-body systems.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

Observation of Hilbert-space fragmentation and fractonic excitations in two-dimensional Hubbard systems

The relaxation behaviour of isolated quantum systems taken out of equilibrium is among the most intriguing questions in many-body physics. Quantum systems out of equilibrium typically relax to thermal equilibrium states by scrambling local information and building up entanglement entropy. However, kinetic constraints in the Hamiltonian can lead to a breakdown of this fundamental paradigm due to a fragmentation of the underlying Hilbert space into dynamically decoupled subsectors in which thermalisation can be strongly suppressed. Here, we experimentally observe Hilbert space fragmentation (HSF) in a two-dimensional tilted Bose-Hubbard model. Using quantum gas microscopy, we engineer a wide variety of initial states and find a rich set of manifestations of HSF involving bulk states, interfaces and defects, i.e., d = 2, 1 and 0 dimensional objects. Specifically, uniform initial states with equal particle number and energy differ strikingly in their relaxation dynamics. Inserting controlled defects on top of a global, non-thermalising chequerboard state, we observe highly anisotropic, sub-dimensional dynamics, an immediate signature of their fractonic nature. An interface between localized and thermalising states in turn displays dynamics depending on its orientation. Our results mark the first observation of HSF beyond one dimension, as well as the concomitant direct observation of fractons, and pave the way for in-depth studies of microscopic transport phenomena in constrained systems

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

Computational Capabilities and Compiler Development for Neutral Atom Quantum Processors: Connecting Tool Developers and Hardware Experts

Neutral Atom Quantum Computing (NAQC) emerges as a promising hardware platform primarily due to its long coherence times and scalability. Additionally, NAQC offers computational advantages encompassing potential long-range connectivity, native multi-qubit gate support, and the ability to physically rearrange qubits with high fidelity. However, for the successful operation of a NAQC processor, one additionally requires new software tools to translate high-level algorithmic descriptions into a hardware executable representation, taking maximal advantage of the hardware capabilities. Realizing new software tools requires a close connection between tool developers and hardware experts to ensure that the corresponding software tools obey the corresponding physical constraints. This work aims to provide a basis to establish this connection by investigating the broad spectrum of capabilities intrinsic to the NAQC platform and its implications on the compilation process. To this end, we first review the physical background of NAQC and derive how it affects the overall compilation process by formulating suitable constraints and figures of merit. We then provide a summary of the compilation process and discuss currently available software tools in this overview. Finally, we present selected case studies and employ the discussed figures of merit to evaluate the different capabilities of NAQC and compare them between two hardware setups.

quant-ph↗

Continuous operation of large-scale atom arrays in optical lattices

Scaling the size of assembled neutral-atom arrays trapped in optical lattices or optical tweezers is an enabling step for a number of applications ranging from quantum simulations to quantum metrology. However, preparation times increase with system size and constitute a severe bottleneck in the bottom-up assembly of large ordered arrays from stochastically loaded optical traps. Here, we demonstrate a novel method to circumvent this bottleneck by recycling atoms from one experimental run to the next, while continuously reloading and adding atoms to the array. Using this approach, we achieve densely-packed arrays with more than 1000 atoms stored in an optical lattice, continuously refilled with a net 2.5 seconds cycle time and about 130 atoms reloaded during each cycle. Furthermore, we show that we can continuously maintain such large arrays by simply reloading atoms that are lost from one cycle to the next. Our approach paves the way towards quantum science with large ordered atomic arrays containing thousands of atoms in continuous operation.

quant-ph↗

Rydberg molecules bound by strong light fields

The coupling of an isolated quantum state to a continuum is typically associated with decoherence and decreased lifetime. Here, we demonstrate that Rydberg macrodimers, weakly bound pairs of Rydberg atoms, can overcome this dissipative mechanism and instead form bound states with the continuum of free motional states. This is enabled by the unique combination of extraordinarily slow vibrational motion in the molecular state and the optical coupling to a non-interacting continuum. Under conditions of strong coupling, we observe the emergence of distinct resonances and explain them within a Fano model. For atoms arranged on a lattice, we predict the strong continuum coupling to even stabilize molecules consisting of more than two atoms and find first signatures of these by observing atom loss correlations using a quantum gas microscope. Our results present an intriguing mechanism to control decoherence and bind multiatomic molecules using strong light-matter interactions.

quant-ph↗

A subwavelength atomic array switched by a single Rydberg atom

Enhancing light-matter coupling at the level of single quanta is essential for numerous applications in quantum science. The cooperative optical response of subwavelength atomic arrays has been found to open new pathways for such strong light-matter couplings, while simultaneously offering access to multiple spatial modes of the light field. Efficient single-mode free-space coupling to such arrays has been reported, but the spatial control over the modes of outgoing light fields has remained elusive. Here, we demonstrate such spatial control over the optical response of an atomically thin mirror formed by a subwavelength array of atoms in free space using a single controlled ancilla atom excited to a Rydberg state. The switching behavior is controlled by the admixture of a small Rydberg fraction to the atomic mirror, and consequently strong dipolar Rydberg interactions with the ancilla. Driving Rabi oscillations on the ancilla atom, we demonstrate coherent control of the transmission and reflection of the array. These results represent a step towards the realization of quantum coherent metasurfaces, the demonstration of controlled atom-photon entanglement and deterministic engineering of quantum states of light.

quant-ph↗

Observation of brane parity order in programmable optical lattices

The Mott-insulating phase of the two-dimensional (2d) Bose-Hubbard model is expected to be characterized by a non-local brane parity order. Parity order captures the presence of microscopic particle-hole fluctuations and entanglement, whose properties depend on the underlying lattice geometry. We realize 2d Bose-Hubbard models in dynamically tunable lattice geometries, using neutral atoms in a novel passively phase-stable tunable optical lattice in combination with programmable site-blocking potentials. We benchmark the performance of our system by single-particle quantum walks in the square, triangular, kagome and Lieb lattice. In the strongly correlated regime, we microscopically characterize the geometry dependence of the quantum fluctuations and experimentally validate the brane parity as a proxy for the non-local order parameter signaling the superfluid-to-Mott insulating phase transition.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

Rydberg Macrodimers: Diatomic molecules on the micrometer scale

Controlling molecular binding at the level of single atoms is one of the holy grails of quantum chemistry. Rydberg macrodimers -- bound states between highly excited Rydberg atoms -- provide a novel perspective in this direction. Resulting from binding potentials formed by the strong, long-range interactions of Rydberg states, Rydberg macrodimers feature bond lengths in the micrometer regime, exceeding those of conventional molecules by orders of magnitude. Using single-atom control in quantum gas microscopes, the unique properties of these exotic states can be studied with unprecedented control, including the response to magnetic fields or the polarization of light in their photoassociation. The high accuracy achieved in spectroscopic studies of macrodimers makes them an ideal testbed to benchmark Rydberg interactions, with direct relevance to quantum computing and information protocols where these are employed. This review provides a historic overview and summarizes the recent findings in the field of Rydberg macrodimers. Furthermore, it presents new data on interactions between macrodimers, leading to a phenomenon analogous to Rydberg blockade at the level of molecules, opening the path towards studying many-body systems of ultralong-range Rydberg molecules.

physics.atom-ph↗

Mid-circuit cavity measurement in a neutral atom array

Subsystem readout during a quantum process, or mid-circuit measurement, is crucial for error correction in quantum computation, simulation, and metrology. Ideal mid-circuit measurement should be faster than the decoherence of the system, high-fidelity, and nondestructive to the unmeasured qubits. Here, we use a strongly coupled optical cavity to read out the state of a single tweezer-trapped 87Rb atom within a small tweezer array. Measuring either atomic fluorescence or the transmission of light through the cavity, we detect both the presence and the state of an atom in the tweezer, within only tens of microseconds, with state preparation and measurement infidelities of roughly 0.5% and atom loss probabilities of around 1%. Using a two-tweezer system, we find measurement on one atom within the cavity causes no observable hyperfine-state decoherence on a second atom located tens of microns from the cavity volume. This high-fidelity mid-circuit readout method is a substantial step towards quantum error correction in neutral atom arrays.

quant-ph↗

Superresolution microscopy of optical fields using tweezer-trapped single atoms

We realize a scanning probe microscope using single trapped $^{87}$Rb atoms to measure optical fields with subwavelength spatial resolution. Our microscope operates by detecting fluorescence from a single atom driven by near-resonant light and determining the ac Stark shift of an atomic transition from other local optical fields via the change in the fluorescence rate. We benchmark the microscope by measuring two standing-wave Gaussian modes of a Fabry-Pérot resonator with optical wavelengths of 1560 nm and 781 nm. We attain a spatial resolution of 300 nm, which is superresolving compared to the limit set by the 780 nm wavelength of the detected light. Sensitivity to short length scale features is enhanced by adapting the sensor to characterize an optical field via the force it exerts on the atom.

physics.atom-ph↗

Realizing distance-selective interactions in a Rydberg-dressed atom array

Measurement-based quantum computing relies on the rapid creation of large-scale entanglement in a register of stable qubits. Atomic arrays are well suited to store quantum information, and entanglement can be created using highly-excited Rydberg states. Typically, isolating pairs during gate operation is difficult because Rydberg interactions feature long tails at large distances. Here, we engineer distance-selective interactions that are strongly peaked in distance through off-resonant laser coupling of molecular potentials between Rydberg atom pairs. Employing quantum gas microscopy, we verify the dressed interactions by observing correlated phase evolution using many-body Ramsey interferometry. We identify atom loss and coupling to continuum modes as a limitation of our present scheme and outline paths to mitigate these effects, paving the way towards the creation of large-scale entanglement.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

Tracking evaporative cooling of a mesoscopic atomic quantum gas in real time

The fluctuations in thermodynamic and transport properties in many-body systems gain importance as the number of constituent particles is reduced. Ultracold atomic gases provide a clean setting for the study of mesoscopic systems; however, the detection of temporal fluctuations is hindered by the typically destructive detection, precluding repeated precise measurements on the same sample. Here, we overcome this hindrance by utilizing the enhanced light--matter coupling in an optical cavity to perform a minimally invasive continuous measurement and track the time evolution of the atom number in a quasi two-dimensional atomic gas during evaporation from a tilted trapping potential. We demonstrate sufficient measurement precision to detect atom number fluctuations well below the level set by Poissonian statistics. Furthermore, we characterize the non-linearity of the evaporation process and the inherent fluctuations of the transport of atoms out of the trapping volume through two-time correlations of the atom number. Our results establish coupled atom--cavity systems as a novel testbed for observing thermodynamics and transport phenomena in mesosopic cold atomic gases and, generally, pave the way for measuring multi-time correlation functions of ultracold quantum gases.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

Quantum gas microscopy of Kardar-Parisi-Zhang superdiffusion

The Kardar-Parisi-Zhang (KPZ) universality class describes the coarse-grained behavior of a wealth of classical stochastic models. Surprisingly, it was recently conjectured to also describe spin transport in the one-dimensional quantum Heisenberg model. We test this conjecture by experimentally probing transport in a cold-atom quantum simulator via the relaxation of domain walls in spin chains of up to 50 spins. We find that domain-wall relaxation is indeed governed by the KPZ dynamical exponent $z = 3/2$, and that the occurrence of KPZ scaling requires both integrability and a non-abelian SU(2) symmetry. Finally, we leverage the single-spin-sensitive detection enabled by the quantum-gas microscope to measure a novel observable based on spin-transport statistics, which yields a clear signature of the non-linearity that is a hallmark of KPZ universality.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

Microscopic electronic structure tomography of Rydberg macrodimers

Precise control and study of molecules is challenging due to the variety of internal degrees of freedom and local coordinates that are typically not controlled in an experiment. Employing quantum gas microscopy to position and resolve the atoms in Rydberg macrodimer states solves almost all of these challenges and enables unique access to the molecular frame. Here, we demonstrate the power of this approach and present first photoassociation studies for different molecular symmetries in which the molecular orientation relative to an applied magnetic field, the polarization of the excitation light and the initial atomic state are fully controlled. The observed characteristic dependencies allow for an electronic structure tomography of the molecular state. We additionally observe an orientation-dependent Zeeman shift and reveal a significant influence on it caused by the hyperfine interaction of the macrodimer state. Finally, we demonstrate controlled engineering of the electrostatic binding potential by opening a gap in the energetic vicinity of two crossing pair potentials.

physics.atom-ph↗

A subradiant optical mirror formed by a single structured atomic layer

Efficient and versatile interfaces for the interaction of light with matter are an essential cornerstone for quantum science. A fundamentally new avenue of controlling light-matter interactions has been recently proposed based on the rich interplay of photon-mediated dipole-dipole interactions in structured subwavelength arrays of quantum emitters. Here we report on the direct observation of the cooperative subradiant response of a two-dimensional (2d) square array of atoms in an optical lattice. We observe a spectral narrowing of the collective atomic response well below the quantum-limited decay of individual atoms into free space. Through spatially resolved spectroscopic measurements, we show that the array acts as an efficient mirror formed by only a single monolayer of a few hundred atoms. By tuning the atom density in the array and by changing the ordering of the particles, we are able to control the cooperative response of the array and elucidate the interplay of spatial order and dipolar interactions for the collective properties of the ensemble. Bloch oscillations of the atoms out of the array enable us to dynamically control the reflectivity of the atomic mirror. Our work demonstrates efficient optical metamaterial engineering based on structured ensembles of atoms and paves the way towards the controlled many-body physics with light and novel light-matter interfaces at the single quantum level.

quant-ph↗

Many-body delocalization in the presence of a quantum bath

Closed generic quantum many-body systems may fail to thermalize under certain conditions even after long times, a phenomenon called many-body localization (MBL). Numerous studies support the stability of the MBL phase in strongly disordered one-dimensional systems. However, the situation is much less clear when a small part of the system is ergodic, a scenario which also has important implications for the existence of many-body localization in higher dimensions. Here we address this question experimentally using a large-scale quantum simulator of ultracold bosons in a two-dimensional optical lattice. We prepare two-component mixtures of varying relative population and implement a disorder potential which is only experienced by one of the components. The second non-disordered ''clean'' component plays the role of a bath of adjustable size that is collisionally coupled to the ''dirty'' component. Our experiments show how the dynamics of the dirty component, which, when on its own, show strong evidence of localization, become affected by the coupling to the clean component. For a high clean population, the clean component appears to behave as an effective bath for the system which leads to its delocalization, while for a smaller clean population, the ability of the bath to destabilize the system becomes strongly reduced. Our results reveal how a finite-sized quantum system can bring another one towards thermalization, in a regime of complex interplay between disorder, tunneling and intercomponent interactions. They provide a new benchmark for effective theories aiming to capture the complex physics of MBL in the weakly localized regime.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

Quantum gas microscopy of Rydberg macrodimers

A microscopic understanding of molecules is essential for many fields of natural sciences but their tiny size hinders direct optical access to their constituents. Rydberg macrodimers - bound states of two highly-excited Rydberg atoms - feature bond lengths easily exceeding optical wavelengths. Here we report on the direct microscopic observation and detailed characterization of such macrodimers in a gas of ultracold atoms in an optical lattice. The size of about 0.7 micrometers, comparable to the size of small bacteria, matches the diagonal distance of the lattice. By exciting pairs in the initial two-dimensional atom array, we resolve more than 50 vibrational resonances. Using our spatially resolved detection, we observe the macrodimers by correlated atom loss and demonstrate control of the molecular alignment by the choice of the vibrational state. Our results allow for precision testing of Rydberg interaction potentials and establish quantum gas microscopy as a powerful new tool for quantum chemistry.

physics.atom-ph↗