Nondestructive light-shift measurements of single atoms in optical dipole traps

TL;DR

This paper introduces a non-destructive technique to measure light-induced energy shifts in individual trapped rubidium atoms, enabling rapid trap characterization crucial for quantum information processing.

Contribution

The study presents a novel non-destructive detection method for measuring AC-Stark shifts in single atoms, extendable to atomic arrays, improving trap diagnostics for quantum applications.

Findings

Successful measurement of AC-Stark shifts over 60 seconds per atom

Demonstration of a non-destructive detection technique

Potential extension to atomic arrays for scalable quantum systems

Abstract

We measure the AC-Stark shifts of the 5S{1/2}, F=2 to 5P{3/2}, F'=3 transitions of individual optically trapped 87Rb atoms using a non-destructive detection technique that allows us to measure the fluorescent signal of one-and-the-same atom for over 60 seconds. These measurements allow efficient and rapid characterization of single atom traps that is required for many coherent quantum information protocols. Although this method is demonstrated using a single atom trap, the concept is readily extended to resolvable atomic arrays.