Coupling free electrons to a trapped-ion quantum computer

TL;DR

This paper proposes a novel method to coherently couple free electrons with a trapped-ion quantum computer, enabling quantum-enhanced electron microscopy and advanced quantum sensing capabilities.

Contribution

It introduces a new setup for coupling free electrons to trapped-ion systems, facilitating non-destructive quantum detection and information accumulation across multiple electrons.

Findings

Single electrons can induce resolvable qubit excitations.

The setup enables quantum-coherent detection in electron microscopy.

Potential for dose-efficient, quantum-enhanced imaging.

Abstract

Freely propagating electrons may serve as quantum probes that can become coherently correlated with other quantum systems, offering access to advanced metrological resources. We propose a setup that coherently couples free electrons in an electron microscope to a trapped-ion quantum processor, enabling non-destructive, quantum-coherent detection and the accumulation of information across multiple electrons. Our analysis shows that single electrons can induce resolvable qubit excitations, establishing a platform for practical applications such as quantum-enhanced, dose-efficient electron microscopy.