Quantum Harmonic Oscillator State Control in a Squeezed Fock Basis

Area of Science:

• Quantum physics
• Atomic physics
• Quantum optics

Background:

• Trapped-ion quantum harmonic oscillators are fundamental systems in quantum science.
• Jaynes-Cummings and anti-Jaynes-Cummings models describe light-matter interactions.
• Squeezed states offer enhanced sensitivity for quantum measurements.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate control of a trapped-ion quantum harmonic oscillator in a squeezed Fock state basis.
• To engineer Hamiltonians analogous to Jaynes-Cummings forms for quantum control.
• To explore the creation and properties of novel quantum states.

Main Methods:

• Utilized engineered Hamiltonians mimicking Jaynes-Cummings physics.
• Employed sequences of alternating transfer pulses.
• Started from a squeezed vacuum state to generate higher excitation levels.

Main Results:

• Achieved control over a trapped-ion quantum harmonic oscillator in a squeezed Fock state basis.
• Reproduced sqrt[n] scaling of matrix elements for low n, characteristic of Jaynes-Cummings physics.
• Generated squeezed Fock states up to n=6 with 8.7 dB squeezing and demonstrated superpositions.

Conclusions:

• Developed a technique to access new sets of quantum harmonic oscillator states.
• The demonstrated control and state generation are relevant for precision metrology.
• These advancements hold potential for applications in quantum information science.