Protocol for autonomous rearrangement of cold atoms into low-entropy configurations

TL;DR

This paper introduces an autonomous method to assemble low-entropy configurations of cold atoms in optical arrays using tunneling and laser cooling, avoiding imaging and evaporative cooling, thus improving speed and fidelity for quantum simulations.

Contribution

The proposed protocol enables arbitrary atomic arrangements without imaging or evaporative cooling, offering a faster and more reliable way to prepare low-entropy states in optical tweezer and lattice systems.

Findings

Successfully assembles arbitrary atomic configurations

Reduces preparation time compared to evaporative cooling

Avoids limitations of imaging fidelity and atom loss

Abstract

The preparation of low-entropy starting conditions is a key requirement for many experiments involving neutral atoms. Here, we propose a method to autonomously assemble arbitrary spatial configurations of atoms within arrays of optical tweezers or lattice sites, enabled by a combination of tunneling and ground-state laser cooling. In contrast to previous methods, our protocol does not rely on either imaging or evaporative cooling. This circumvents limitations associated with imaging fidelity and loss, especially in systems with small spatial scales, while providing a substantial improvement in speed relative to evaporative approaches. These features may make it well-suited for preparing arbitrary initial conditions for Bose-Hubbard or Rydberg interacting systems.