Spin Squeezing by Rydberg Dressing in an Array of Atomic Ensembles.

Area of Science:

• Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics
• Quantum Metrology
• Quantum Information Science

Background:

• Spin-squeezed states are crucial for surpassing the standard quantum limit in precision measurements.
• Rydberg dressing offers optical control over interactions in neutral atom ensembles.

Purpose of the Study:

• To create and characterize spin-squeezed atomic ensembles using Rydberg dressing.
• To demonstrate metrological gain in parallel, spatially separated ensembles.
• To explore applications in fundamental physics tests and quantum-enhanced imaging.

Main Methods:

• Utilized Rydberg dressing of cesium atoms to induce controlled interactions.
• Employed a stroboscopic dressing sequence to optimize coherence and suppress atom loss.
• Prepared squeezed states with N=200 atoms and measured the squeezing parameter.

Main Results:

• Achieved a metrological squeezing parameter ξ²=0.77(9), indicating reduced phase variance below the standard quantum limit.
• Demonstrated parallel metrological gain across three spatially separated ensembles.
• Showcased control over squeezing strength via local dressing light intensity.

Conclusions:

• The Rydberg dressing technique enables the creation of highly coherent spin-squeezed atomic ensembles.
• This method provides a scalable platform for quantum-enhanced metrology.
• Potential applications include improving atomic clock precision and enabling quantum-enhanced field imaging.