Switching Rydberg interactions by three orders of magnitude using a terahertz field

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates a method to rapidly switch Rydberg atom interactions by three orders of magnitude using a pulsed terahertz field, enhancing quantum control capabilities.

Contribution

The authors introduce a novel approach employing terahertz fields to achieve fast, large-scale switching of Rydberg interactions, surpassing microwave limitations.

Findings

Achieved three orders of magnitude interaction switching.

Demonstrated interaction-induced dephasing of stored photons.

Potential applications in quantum computing and quantum optics.

Abstract

Atom-based quantum computing exploits the ability to enhance atom-atom interactions by employing laser excitation to higher-excited Rydberg states. Additional fields that drive transitions between Rydberg states can offer independent control of these atom-atom interactions. However, as microwave (mw) fields only provide access to states with similar principal quantum number $n$, their ability to switch the interactions' strength is limited. Here, we use a pulsed terahertz field to rapidly switch the strength of interactions between Rydberg atoms by three orders of magnitude. We demonstrate interaction switching using photon storage, where the terahertz field induces an interaction induced dephasing of the stored photon. This ability to switch interactions offers advantages for single-qubit readout, state-detection schemes, quantum annealing, and Rydberg quantum optics.