Optical Quantum Controlled (OQC)generation of Bose-Einstein Condensates
Abstract
Ultracold atoms have demonstrated great potential for both technological and fundamental science applications. Over the years, the field has undergone significant maturation, and matter-wave interferometry is now at a stage where it can delve into quantum limits.In order to fully exploit the potential of cold-atoms, a precise control of the atomic cloud that can manipulate the quantum features and harness quantum resources is required. The proposed research aims to develop a robust and fundamentally optimal method for measurement and control of the atom number in an ultracold atomic ensemble with precision better than the atom shot noise level. The measurement is based on the dispersive, off-resonant light-atom interaction that maps the atom number to the polarization state of light. The proposed measurement does not destroy quantum coherences and has an insignificant effect on the atomic temperature, so thatit can be used to perform quantum-enhanced measurements and prepare the atomic state at the start of an interferometer sequence. Control of the atom number is realized by the atom-loss that is introduced by the measurement, since even far off-resonant light has anon-zero probability for absorption. This atom-loss mechanism will be strategically employed to reduce the initial ensemble size tothe desired target. A real-time Kalman filtering will be implemented using ultra-fast electronics, ensuring optimal tracking of theensemble atom number. With the proposed method for the first time the quantum back-action of the measurement, here manifested as probe-induced atom-loss, is exploited as a resource to improve the stability of the experiment. Measuring with sub-atom-shot noise resolution will lead to number squeezed states of Bose Einstein Condensates and will pave the way for squeezing and entanglement generation for spectroscopy and interferometry. It will also significantly accelerate experiments with cold atoms, which typically requirea lot of averages to reduce fluctuations in the atom number of the prepared ensembles. Applications of the proposed research include atomic clocks, rotational and acceleration sensors, gravimeters, magnetometers, quantum computing, quantum simulations and fundamental physics experiments such as gravitational detectors.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Apr 11, 2024
- Source ID
- N629092412039
Entities
People
- Wolf Von Klitzing
Organizations
- Foundation for Research and Technology – Hellas
- Office of Naval Research
- United States Navy