Rydberg atom quantum computing

Quantum computing with cold atoms and Rydberg blockade

Mark Saffman Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Optically trapped neutral atoms are one of several leading approaches to scalable quantum information processing. Atomic Rydberg states provide strong and controllable interactions that can be applied in a variety of for quantum information tasks. Examples include entanglement of single atom qubits, multi-atom ensemble qubits, and hybrid entanglement between different types of atoms, between atoms and photons, or between atoms and solid state qubits.

I will present progress towards using strong Rydberg interactions for implementation of small scale quantum computing devices. In experiments with N~10 atom ensembles we demonstrate preparation of entangled W states, and strong blockade between spatially separated ensembles. In an array of single atom qubits we demonstrate high fidelity single qubit gates, and improved fidelity of Rydberg blockade mediated entanglement, surpassing all previous experiments. Prospects for very high fidelity Rydberg gates using new gate protocols will be presented.