Shaking the entropy out of a lattice: atomic filtering by vibrational excitations

TL;DR

The paper introduces a straightforward method to minimize atom-number fluctuations in optical lattices by utilizing vibrational excitations and merging protocols, enabling high-fidelity atomic arrangements for quantum computing and many-body physics.

Contribution

A novel scheme combining vibrational state manipulation and merging protocols to prepare low-entropy, single-atom-per-site states in optical lattices for bosons and fermions.

Findings

Effective reduction of atom-number fluctuations.

Preparation of large, low-entropy Mott-insulating regions.

Applicable to both bosonic and fermionic atoms.

Abstract

We present a simple and efficient scheme to reduce atom-number fluctuations in optical lattices. The interaction-energy difference for atoms in different vibrational states is used to remove excess atomic occupation. The remaining vacant sites are then filled with atoms by merging adjacent wells, for which we implement a protocol that circumvents the constraints of unitarity. The preparation of large regions with precisely one atom per lattice site is discussed for both bosons and fermions. The resulting low-entropy Mott-insulating states may serve as high-fidelity register states for quantum computing and as a starting point for investigations of many-body physics.