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Updated: May 8, 2026

Gradient Echo Quantum Memory in Warm Atomic Vapor
Published on: November 12, 2013
Decoherence of a single-ion qubit immersed in a spin-polarized atomic bath
L Ratschbacher1, C Sias, L Carcagni
1Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, JJ Thomson Avenue, Cambridge CB30HE, United Kingdom.
Abstract:
We report on the immersion of a spin qubit encoded in a single trapped ion into a spin-polarized neutral atom environment, which possesses both continuous (motional) and discrete (spin) degrees of freedom. The environment offers the possibility of a precise microscopic description, which allows us to understand dynamics and decoherence from first principles. We observe the spin dynamics of the qubit and measure the decoherence times (T(1) and T(2)), which are determined by the spin-exchange interaction as well as by an unexpectedly strong spin-nonconserving coupling mechanism.
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