arXiv subjects

Wesley C. Campbell

Publications and source records attributed to Wesley C. Campbell.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

A metastable state in $\mathrm{Yb}^+$ with lifetime greater than 10 minutes

We find through direct, time-domain measurement of trapped $\mathrm{Yb}^+$ ions that the excited ${}^3[11/2]_{9/2}^o$ state has a collision-free lifetime of 17.8(6) min, long enough for use in atomic clockwork or quantum information processing. We locate and benchmark a broad ``repump'' transition at $701\, \mathrm{nm}$ that readily transfers population back into the Doppler cooling cycle with the ground state, which may allow for quantum nondemolition measurement of sub-structure in the metastable manifold. Using a bi-stable Coulomb-crystal manometer, we find that the collisional quenching of this metastable ${}^3[11/2]_{9/2}^o$ manifold by background gas is more efficient than for ${}^2\mathrm{F}_{7/2}^o$, but nonetheless we observe an average lifetime exceeding 10 minutes at the base pressure of our apparatus.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2026

Angular Geometry of Atomic Multipole Transitions

A simple way to calculate Rabi frequencies is outlined for interactions of atomic or nuclear multipole moments with laser fields that focuses on their relative geometry. The resulting expression takes the form of a dot product between the laser polarization and a vector spherical harmonic, thereby naturally connecting to the multipole's far-field spontaneous-emission pattern and providing a way to visualize the interaction. Since the vector spherical harmonics are not yet a standard tool in quantum science, their relevant properties are reviewed. This approach is illustrated in the calculation of a variety of beam effects, yielding both perturbative corrections and some nontrivial cases with non-vanishing coupling.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2026

A broadband, individually addressing two- and three-dimensional photonic integrated circuit for trapped-ion qubit control

Trapped ions provide a high-fidelity platform for quantum information processing, yet delivery of multiple, distinct wavelengths across large networks of interaction zones remains a bottleneck. Conventional free-space light delivery lacks scalability, while on-chip grating couplers suffer from narrow operational bandwidth that increases circuit footprint and optical interfacing complexity. Here we show a broadband photonic integrated circuit capable of addressing individual ions. The circuit combines a planar waveguide lens with a micromirror fabricated using two-photon polymerization at wafer scale. This implementation can address three individual ions from $λ$ = 405 - 880 nm with -27 dB average intensity crosstalk at $5\,μ\mathrm{m}$ pitch. We trap $^{40}\mathrm{Ca}^{+}$ and $^{138}\mathrm{Ba}^{+}$ ions above such devices, characterize optical crosstalk with barium ions, and demonstrate individual repumping of calcium ions. This monolithic photonic architecture brings broadband addressing in an on-chip modality to trapped-ion technology. More generally, integrating additive manufacturing into quantum devices is poised to unlock expanded design space for implementing novel quantum architectures.

quant-ph↗

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↗

arXiv2026

Hyperfine spectroscopy of optical-cycling transitions in singly ionized thulium

We present a spectroscopic investigation of $^{169}\mathrm{Tm}^+$ that provides two key foundations for its use as a platform for advanced quantum applications. First, we establish the complete spectroscopic road map for optical cycling (including laser cooling) by performing high-resolution spectroscopy on $^{169}\mathrm{Tm}^+$ ions in an ion trap. We characterize the primary $313\,\mathrm{nm}$ and complementary $448/453\,\mathrm{nm}$ cycling transitions, identify the essential near-infrared repumping frequencies, and determine the magnetic-dipole hyperfine $A$ constants for all relevant levels. Second, we report a detailed characterization of a metastable state as a candidate for hosting a robust qubit, performing lifetime measurements and Zeeman-resolved microwave hyperfine spectroscopy with $\mathrm{kHz}$ precision.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2026

Sub-hertz optical transitions in excited Yb$^+$

We present the observation of three semi-forbidden transitions in singly-ionized ytterbium from the metastable $^{2}\mathrm{F}^o_{7/2}$ state. Owing to the long lifetimes of both the upper and lower states involved, these transitions are narrow and complement those already frequently used in this atom for quantum information and searches for new physics. We report the absolute frequencies of these electric quadrupole transitions, their isotope shifts, hyperfine structure, and measurements of the quadrupole transition moments. We find that the spontaneous lifetimes of these excited states are limited by slow magnetic dipole emission to lower-lying, odd-parity states, the lowest of which is accessible by laser excitation from ${}^2\mathrm{F}_{7/2}^o$ and is an attractive candidate for hosting a long-lived qubit.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2025

Quantum Gate Dynamics Beyond the Rotating-Wave Approximation using Multi-Timescale Quantum Averaging Theory

We present a quantum averaging theory (QAT) for analytically modeling unitary gate dynamics in driven quantum systems beyond the rotating-wave approximation. QAT addresses the simultaneous presence of distinct timescales by generating a rotating frame with a dynamical phase operator that toggles with the high-frequency dynamics and yields an effective Hamiltonian for the slow degree of freedom. By accounting for the fast-varying effects, we demonstrate that high-fidelity two-qubit gates in strongly driven systems are achievable by going beyond the validity of first-order approximations. The QAT results rapidly converge with numerical calculations of a fast-entangling Mølmer-Sørensen trapped-ion-qubit gate in the strong coupling regime, illustrating QAT's ability to simultaneously provide both an intuitive, effective-Hamiltonian model and high accuracy.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2025

Quantum Averaging Theory for Multi-Timescale Driven Quantum Systems

We present a multi-timescale Quantum Averaging Theory (QAT), a unitarity-preserving generalized Floquet framework for analytically modeling periodically and almost-periodically driven quantum systems across multiple timescales. By integrating the Magnus expansion with the method of averaging on multiple scales, QAT captures the effects of both far-detuned and near-resonant interactions on system dynamics. The framework yields an effective Hamiltonian description while retaining fast oscillatory effects within a separate dynamical phase operator, ensuring accuracy across a wide range of driving regimes. We demonstrate the rapid convergence of QAT results toward exact numerical solutions in both detuning regimes for touchstone problems in quantum information science.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2025

Barium Autoionization for Efficient Ion Trap Loading

We report a theoretical and experimental investigation of autoionizing resonances from the $5d6p\,{}^3\mathrm{D}_1^o$ manifold in neutral barium for efficient loading of ion traps. Our calculations predict large resonant cross sections for many narrow autoionizing resonances, but we find experimentally that for most of these, Doppler broadening during trap loading depresses the effective cross sections that can be achieved in practice. We identify and demonstrate a strong, broad transition at $531\,\mathrm{nm}$, and show that it furnishes an order-of-magnitude increase in trap loading efficiency compared to other demonstrated resonances.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2025

Unraveling vibronic interactions in molecules functionalized with optical cycling centers

We report detailed characterization of the vibronic interactions between the first two electronically excited states, A and B, in SrOPh (Ph = phenyl, -C6H5) and its deuterated counterpart, SrOPh-d5 (-C6D5). The vibronic interactions, which arise due to non-adiabatic coupling between the two electronic states, mix the B,v0 state with the energetically close vibronic level A,v21v33, resulting in extra transition probability into the latter state. This state mixing is more prominent in the deuterated molecule because of the smaller energy gap between the interacting states. We model the mixing of the A and B states using the Koppel-Domcke-Cederbaum (KDC) Hamiltonian parametrized in the diabatic framework of Ichino, Gauss, and Stanton on the basis of equation-of-motion coupled-cluster calculations. The simulation attributes the observed mixing to a second-order effect mediated by linear quasi-diabatic couplings between the A-C and B-C states. Based on the measured spectra, we deduce an effective coupling strength of 0.5 cm-1. Non-adiabatic couplings between different electronic states is an important factor that should be considered in the design of laser-cooling protocols for complex molecules.

physics.chem-ph↗

arXiv2025

Vibronic coupling limits the use of high-lying electronic states in complex molecules for laser cooling

Laser cooling of large, complex molecules is a long-standing goal, instrumental for enabling new quantum technology and precision measurements. A primary consideration for the feasibility of laser cooling, which determines the efficiency and technical requirements of the process, is the number of excited-state decay pathways leading to vibrational excitations. Therefore, the assessment of the laser-cooling potential of a molecule begins with estimate of the vibrational branching ratios of the first few electronic excited states theoretically to find the optimum cooling scheme. Such calculations, typically done within the BO and harmonic approximations, have suggested that one leading candidate for large, polyatomic molecule laser cooling, alkaline earth phenoxides, can most efficiently be laser-cooled via the third electronically excited C state. Here, we report the first detailed spectroscopic characterization of the C state in CaOPh and SrOPh. We find that nonadiabatic couplings between the A, B, and C states lead to substantial mixing, giving rise to vibronic states that enable additional decay pathways. Based on the intensity ratio of these extra decay channels, we estimate a non-adiabatic coupling strength of 0.1 cm-1. While this coupling strength is small, the large density of vibrational states available at photonic energy scales in a polyatomic molecule leads to significant mixing. Thus, this result is expected to be general for large molecules and implies that only the lowest electronic excited state should be considered when judging the suitability of a molecule for laser cooling.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2025

TrapSIMD: SIMD-Aware Compiler Optimization for 2D Trapped-Ion Quantum Machines

Modular trapped-ion (TI) architectures offer a scalable quantum computing (QC) platform, with native transport behaviors that closely resemble the Single Instruction Multiple Data (SIMD) paradigm. We present FluxTrap, a SIMD-aware compiler framework that establishes a hardware-software co-design interface for TI systems. FluxTrap introduces a novel abstraction that unifies SIMD-style instructions -- including segmented intra-trap shift SIMD (S3) and global junction transfer SIMD (JT-SIMD) operations -- with a SIMD-enriched architectural graph, capturing key features such as transport synchronization, gate-zone locality, and topological constraints. It applies two passes -- SIMD aggregation and scheduling -- to coordinate grouped ion transport and gate execution within architectural constraints. On NISQ benchmarks, FluxTrap reduces execution time by up to $3.82 \times$ and improves fidelity by several orders of magnitude. It also scales to fault-tolerant workloads under diverse hardware configurations, providing feedback for future TI hardware design.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2024

Internal state cooling of an atom with thermal light

A near-minimal instance of optical cooling is experimentally presented wherein the internal-state entropy of a single atom is reduced more than twofold by illuminating it with broadband, incoherent light. Since the rate of optical pumping by a thermal state increases monotonically with its temperature, the cooling power in this scenario increases with higher thermal occupation, an example of a phenomenon known as cooling by heating. In contrast to optical pumping by coherent, narrow-band laser light, here we perform the same task with fiber-coupled, broadband sunlight, the brightest laboratory-accessible source of continuous blackbody radiation.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2024

Bottom-up approach to scalable growth of molecules capable of optical cycling

Gas-phase molecules capable of repeatable, narrow-band spontaneous photon scattering are prized for direct laser cooling and quantum state detection. Recently, large molecules incorporating phenyl rings have been shown to exhibit similar vibrational closure to the small molecules demonstrated so far, and it is not yet known if the high vibrational-mode density of even larger species will eventually compromise optical cycling. Here, we systematically increase the size of hydrocarbon ligands attached to single alkaline-earth-phenoxides from (-H) to -C$_{14}$H$_{19}$ while measuring the vibrational branching fractions of the optical transition. We find that varying the ligand size from 1 to more than 30 atoms does not systematically reduce the cycle closure, which remains around 90%. Theoretical extensions to larger diamondoids and bulk diamond surface suggest that alkaline earth phenoxides may maintain the desirable scattering behavior as the system size grows further, with no indication of an upper limit.

physics.chem-ph↗

arXiv2024

Æ codes

Diatomic molecular codes [arXiv:1911.00099] are designed to encode quantum information in the orientation of a diatomic molecule, allowing error correction from small torques and changes in angular momentum. Here, we directly study noise native to atomic and molecular platforms -- spontaneous emission, stray electromagnetic fields, and Raman scattering -- and show that diatomic molecular codes fail against this noise. We derive simple necessary and sufficient conditions for codes to protect against such noise. We also identify existing and develop new absorption-emission (Æ) codes that are more practical than molecular codes, require lower average momentum, can directly protect against photonic processes up to arbitrary order, and are applicable to a broader set of atomic and molecular systems.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2024

Impulsive Spin-Motion Entanglement for Fast Quantum Computation and Sensing

We perform entanglement of spin and motional degrees of freedom of a single, ground-state trapped ion through the application of a $16$ ps laser pulse. The duration of the interaction is significantly shorter than both the motional timescale ($30$ $μ$s) and spin precession timescale ($1$ ns) , demonstrating that neither sets a fundamental speed limit on this operation for quantum information processing. Entanglement is demonstrated through the collapse and revival of spin coherence as the spin components of the wavefunction separate and recombine in phase space. We infer the fidelity of these single qubit operations to be $(97^{+3}_{-4})\%$.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2023

Extending the large molecule limit: The role of Fermi resonance in developing a quantum functional group

Polyatomic molecules equipped with optical cycling centers (OCCs), enabling continuous photon scattering during optical excitation, are exciting candidates for advancing quantum information science. However, as these molecules grow in size and complexity the interplay of complex vibronic couplings on optical cycling becomes a critical, but relatively unexplored consideration. Here, we present an extensive exploration of Fermi resonances in large OCC-containing molecules, surpassing the constraints of harmonic approximation. High-resolution dispersed laser-induced fluorescence and excitation spectroscopy reveal Fermi resonances in calcium and strontium phenoxides and their derivatives. This resonance manifests as vibrational coupling leading to intensity borrowing by combination bands near optically active harmonic bands. The resulting additional vibration-changing decays require more repumping lasers for effective optical cycling. To mitigate these effects, we explore altering vibrational energy level spacing through substitutions on the phenyl ring or changes in the OCC itself. While the complete elimination of vibrational coupling in complex molecules remains challenging, our findings underscore the potential for significant mitigation, opening new avenues for optimizing optical cycling in large polyatomic molecules.

physics.chem-ph↗

arXiv2023

Eliminating qubit type cross-talk in the $\textit{omg}$ protocol

The $\textit{omg}$ protocol is a promising paradigm that uses multiple, application-specific qubit subspaces within the Hilbert space of each single atom during quantum information processing. A key assumption for $\textit{omg}$ operation is that a subspace can be accessed independently without deleterious effects on information stored in other subspaces. We find that intensity noise during laser-based quantum gates in one subspace can cause decoherence in other subspaces, potentially complicating $\textit{omg}$ operation. We show, however, that a magnetic-field-induced vector light shift can be used to eliminate this source of decoherence. As this technique requires simply choosing a certain, magnetic field dependent, polarization for the gate lasers it is straightforward to implement and potentially helpful for $\textit{omg}$ based quantum technology.

quant-ph↗