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Optical Tweezer-Controlled Entanglement Gates with Trapped-Ion Qubits
David Schwerdt1,2, Lee Peleg1,2, Gal Dekel1
1Weizmann Institute of Science, Department of Physics of Complex Systems, Rehovot 7610001, Israel.
Physical Review Letters
|January 30, 2026
Summary
We demonstrate a new quantum entanglement protocol using ions and optical tweezers for quantum computing. This method enables efficient implementation of complex quantum gates, advancing scalable quantum information processing.
Area of Science:
- Quantum Information Science
- Atomic, Molecular, and Optical (AMO) Physics
- Quantum Computing
Background:
- Quantum entanglement is crucial for quantum computation.
- Implementing controlled quantum operations is a key challenge.
- Ions manipulated by optical tweezers offer a promising platform for qubits.
Purpose of the Study:
- To propose and experimentally demonstrate a novel entanglement protocol.
- To utilize ions illuminated by optical tweezers as control qubits.
- To implement a controlled Mölmer-Sörensen operation analogous to a Toffoli gate.
Main Methods:
- Experimental demonstration using a three-ion chain.
- Employing optical tweezers to control ion qubits.
- Performing a controlled Mölmer-Sörensen gate operation.
Main Results:
- Successful demonstration of the proposed entanglement protocol.
- Observation of controlled operations on a three-ion system.
- Analysis of dephasing effects on control qubits due to laser intensity fluctuations.
Conclusions:
- The protocol is experimentally validated on a three-ion chain.
- The method shows potential for implementing n-controlled unitary operations.
- Generalizability to larger qubit systems and broader classes of operations is discussed.
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