Trapping Alkaline Earth Rydberg Atoms Optical Tweezer Arrays.

Area of Science:

• Quantum Computing
• Atomic Physics
• Quantum Simulation

Background:

• Neutral atom qubits utilizing Rydberg-mediated interactions are crucial for large-scale quantum systems.
• Current experiments face atom loss and limited interaction times because Rydberg states are not trapped with ground state atoms.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate stable trapping of Rydberg states in ytterbium atoms using the same optical tweezers as ground state atoms.
• To investigate the impact of this trapping method on Rydberg atom lifetimes and coherence times.

Main Methods:

• Utilized red-detuned optical tweezers to trap ground state and Rydberg states of ytterbium atoms.
• Leveraged the polarizability of the Yb^{+} ion core for stable trapping.
• Employed the ^{3}S_{1} Rydberg series for experiments.

Main Results:

• Achieved trapped Rydberg atom lifetimes exceeding 100 microseconds, a significant improvement over untrapped atoms.
• Observed no auto- or photoionization from trap light for the trapped Rydberg states.
• Measured a coherence time of 59 microseconds between two Rydberg levels, surpassing the 28 microsecond lifetime of untrapped atoms.

Conclusions:

• Stable trapping of Rydberg states in the same optical tweezers as ground state atoms is feasible in ytterbium.
• This method substantially enhances Rydberg atom lifetimes and coherence times, crucial for quantum simulation and computing.
• The findings pave the way for longer interaction times in Rydberg atom arrays.