Fast and reliable atom transport by optical tweezers

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that shortcuts to adiabaticity enable fast, reliable, and low-heating transport of single atoms using optical tweezers, advancing quantum computing architectures.

Contribution

The study introduces STA-based control for optical tweezer atom transport, achieving rapid movement with minimal heating, surpassing traditional slow or heating-prone methods.

Findings

Achieved fast atom transport with constant acceleration.

Suppressed vibrational heating during transport.

Demonstrated curved and variable-speed trajectories.

Abstract

Movable single atoms have drawn significant attention for their potentials as flying quantum memory in non-local, dynamic quantum computing architectures. However, when dynamic optical tweezers are employed to control atoms opto-mechanically, conventional methods such as adiabatic controls and constant jerk controls are either inherently slow or induce mechanical heating, leading to atom loss over long distances or at high speeds. To address these challenges, we explore the method known as shortcuts to adiabaticity (STA) as an efficient alternative for fast and reliable atom transport control. We present a series of proof-of-concept experiments demonstrating that STA-based optical tweezer trajectories can achieve both rapid and reliable single-atom transport. These experiments include moving atoms between two locations, adjusting speeds en route, and navigating curved trajectories. Our results indicate that atoms can be transported with a constant acceleration on average over distances that is only limited by trap lifetime, while effectively suppressing vibrational heating. This makes STA methods particularly well-suited for long-distance atom transport, potentially spanning distances over centimeter scales, such as between quantum information devices.