Global quantum network with ground-based single-atom memories in optical cavities and satellite links
Abstract:
The realization of a global quantum network holds the potential to enable groundbreaking applications such as secure quantum communication and blind quantum computing. However, building such a network remains a formidable challenge, primarily due to photon loss in optical fibers. In this work, we propose a quantum repeater architecture for distributing entanglement over intercontinental distances by leveraging low-Earth-orbit satellites equipped with spontaneous parametric down-conversion photon-pair sources and ground stations utilizing single-atom memories in optical cavities and single-photon detectors to implement the cavity-assisted photon scattering gates for high-fidelity entanglement mapping. The efficient entanglement swapping is achieved by performing high-fidelity Rydberg gates and readouts. We evaluate the entanglement distribution rates and fidelities by analyzing several key imperfections, including time-dependent two-photon transmission and time-dependent pair fidelity, for various satellite heights and ground station distances. We also investigate the impact of pair source fidelity, spin decoherence rate, and sky brightness on the repeater performance. Furthermore, we introduce a spatial-frequency multiplexing strategy within this architecture to enhance the design’s performance. Finally, we discuss in detail the practical implementation of this architecture. Our results show that this architecture enables entanglement distribution over intercontinental distances. For example, it can distribute over 10 000 pairs per flyby over 10 000 km with a fidelity above 90%, surpassing the capabilities of terrestrial quantum repeaters.Taming the Recoil Effect in Cavity-Assisted Quantum Interconnects
Abstract:
Photon recoil is one of the fundamental limitations for high-fidelity control of trapped-atom qubits such as neutral atoms and trapped ions. In this work, we derive an analytical model for efficiently evaluating the motion-induced infidelity in remote entanglement generation protocols. Our model is applicable for various photonic qubit encodings, such as polarization, time-bin, and frequency encodings, and with arbitrary initial motional states, thus providing a crucial theoretical tool for realizing high-fidelity quantum networking. For the case of tweezer-trapped neutral atoms, our results indicate that operation in the with cavity decay rate exceeding the atom-photon coupling rate and near-ground-state cooling with motional quanta below 1 are desired to suppress the motion-induced infidelity sufficiently below the 1% level required for efficient quantum networking. Finite-temperature effects can be mitigated efficiently by detection time filtering at the moderate cost of success probability and network speed. These results extend the understanding of infidelity sources in remote entanglement generation protocols, establishing a concrete path toward fault-tolerant quantum networking with scalable trapped-atom qubit systems.Observation of a bilayer superfluid with interlayer coherence
Abstract:
Controlling the coupling between different degrees of freedom in many-body systems is a powerful technique for engineering novel phases of matter. We create a bilayer system of two-dimensional (2D) ultracold Bose gases and demonstrate the controlled generation of bulk coherence through tunable interlayer Josephson coupling. We probe the resulting correlation properties of both phase modes of the bilayer system: the symmetric phase mode is studied via a noise-correlation method, while the antisymmetric phase fluctuations are directly captured by matter-wave interferometry. The measured correlation functions for both of these modes exhibit a crossover from short-range to quasi-long-range order above a coupling-dependent critical point, thus providing direct evidence of bilayer superfluidity mediated by interlayer coupling. We map out the phase diagram and interpret it with renormalization-group theory and Monte Carlo simulations. Additionally, we elucidate the underlying mechanism through the observation of suppressed vortex excitations in the antisymmetric mode.Detecting Phase Coherence of 2D Bose Gases via Noise Correlations
CNN-based vortex detection in atomic 2D Bose gases in the presence of a phononic background
Abstract:
Quantum vortices play a crucial role in both equilibrium and dynamical phenomena in two-dimensional (2D) superfluid systems. Experimental detection of these excitations in 2D ultracold atomic gases typically involves examining density depletions in absorption images, however the presence of a significant phononic background renders the problem challenging, beyond the capability of simple algorithms or the human eye. Here, we utilize a convolutional neural network to detect vortices in the presence of strong long- and intermediate-length scale density modulations in finite-temperature 2D Bose gases. We train the model on datasets obtained from ab initio Monte Carlo simulations using the classical-field method for density and phase fluctuations, and Gross–Pitaevskii simulation of realistic expansion dynamics. We use the model to analyze experimental images and benchmark its performance by comparing the results to the matter-wave interferometric detection of vortices, confirming the observed scaling of vortex density across the Berezinskii–Kosterlitz–Thouless critical point. The combination of a relevant simulation pipeline with machine-learning methods is a key development towards the comprehensive understanding of complex vortex-phonon dynamics in out-of-equilibrium 2D quantum systems.