Circuit Quantum Electrodynamics: Coherent Coupling of a Single Photon to a Cooper Pair Box

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates strong coherent coupling between a superconducting artificial atom and a single photon in a circuit, enabling quantum effects in solid state systems for quantum information and communication.

Contribution

It reports the realization of a circuit quantum electrodynamics system with strong atom-photon coupling in a solid state environment, a significant step for quantum technology.

Findings

Strong coupling achieved between a superconducting qubit and a single photon.

Coherent quantum effects dominate over dissipation in the system.

Potential applications in quantum information processing and single photon sources.

Abstract

Under appropriate conditions, superconducting electronic circuits behave quantum mechanically, with properties that can be designed and controlled at will. We have realized an experiment in which a superconducting two-level system, playing the role of an artificial atom, is strongly coupled to a single photon stored in an on-chip cavity. We show that the atom-photon coupling in this circuit can be made strong enough for coherent effects to dominate over dissipation, even in a solid state environment. This new regime of matter light interaction in a circuit can be exploited for quantum information processing and quantum communication. It may also lead to new approaches for single photon generation and detection.