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Sensing Atomic Motion from the Zero Point to Room Temperature with Ultrafast Atom Interferometry

K. G. Johnson, B. Neyenhuis, J. Mizrahi, J. D. Wong-Campos, and C. Monroe
Phys. Rev. Lett. 115, 213001 – Published 16 November 2015
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Abstract

We sense the motion of a trapped atomic ion using a sequence of state-dependent ultrafast momentum kicks. We use this atom interferometer to characterize a nearly pure quantum state with n=1 phonon and accurately measure thermal states ranging from near the zero-point energy to n¯104, with the possibility of extending at least 100 times higher in energy. The complete energy range of this method spans from the ground state to far outside of the Lamb-Dicke regime, where atomic motion is greater than the optical wavelength. Apart from thermometry, these interferometric techniques are useful for characterizing ultrafast entangling gates between multiple trapped ions.

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  • Received 23 July 2015

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.115.213001

© 2015 American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Atomic, Molecular & Optical

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Cool Physics with Warm Ions

Published 16 November 2015

Ultrafast laser pulses can be used to control and characterize the quantum motion of a single trapped ion over 5 orders of magnitude in temperature.

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Authors & Affiliations

K. G. Johnson*, B. Neyenhuis, J. Mizrahi, J. D. Wong-Campos, and C. Monroe

  • Joint Quantum Institute, University of Maryland Department of Physics and National Institute of Standards and Technology, College Park, Maryland 20742, USA

  • *kale@umd.edu

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Issue

Vol. 115, Iss. 21 — 20 November 2015

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