Rapid state-resolved single-atom imaging of alkaline-earth fermions

TL;DR

This paper introduces a rapid, high-fidelity imaging method for single fermionic strontium atoms that detects multiple nuclear spin states simultaneously, advancing quantum information and simulation capabilities.

Contribution

The authors develop a novel imaging technique enabling simultaneous, state-resolved detection of up to four nuclear spin states in a single atom within 100 microseconds.

Findings

Achieved detection fidelities from 0.936 to 0.997.

Tracked coherent nuclear spin dynamics after a quench.

Demonstrated potential for multi-level quantum computing and simulations.

Abstract

Local Hilbert spaces with large dimension are of key interest for quantum information with applications in quantum computing and memories, quantum simulations and metrology. Thanks to its weak coupling to external perturbations, the large ground-state nuclear spin manifold of fermionic alkaline-earth atoms is an exciting resource to explore for quantum information. Simultaneous single atom and state-resolved detection however remains an outstanding challenge limiting the development of novel quantum computing and simulation schemes beyond qubits. Here, we report on a new imaging technique enabling the simultaneous detection of up to four quantum states encoded in the nuclear spin manifold of a single fermionic strontium atom within 100 microseconds, with state-resolved detection fidelities ranging from 0.936 to 0.997. This technique is further used to track the highly coherent nuclear spin dynamics after a quench highlighting the potential of this system for quantum information. These results offer fascinating perspectives for quantum science with multi-electron atoms ranging from qudit-based quantum computing to quantum simulations of the SU(N) Fermi-Hubbard model.