Cavity driven Rabi oscillations between Rydberg states of atoms trapped on a superconducting atom chip

Abstract

Hybrid quantum systems involving cold atoms and microwave resonators can enable cavitymediated infinite-range interactions between atomic spin systems and realize atomic quantum memories and transducers for microwave to optical conversion. To achieve strong coupling of atoms to on-chip microwave resonators, it was suggested to use atomic Rydberg states with strong electric dipole transitions. Here we report on the realization of coherent coupling of a Rydberg transition of ultracold atoms trapped on an integrated superconducting atom chip to the microwave field of an on-chip coplanar waveguide resonator. We observe and characterize the cavity driven Rabi oscillations between a pair of Rydberg states of atoms in an inhomogeneous electric field near the chip surface. Our studies demonstrate the feasibility, but also reveal the challenges, of coherent state manipulation of Rydberg atoms interacting with superconducting circuits.

High-efficiency coherent microwave-to-optics conversion via off-resonant scattering

“…Notably, the high efficiency and broad bandwidth achieved in our scheme meet the optical interface requirement for superconducting qubits. As pioneering works that coherent coupling between Rydberg atoms and the microwave field of various superconducting devices have been achieved [39][40][41][42] , we can expect atomic transducers to convert single-photon quantum states in a cryogenic environment [43][44][45] , providing a critical component of large-scale hybrid quantum networks. For instance, this transduction approach can be used in an ensemble of atoms coherently coupled to the microwave field of an on-chip coplanar waveguide resonator, resulting in a directional emission of optical photons even without an optical cavity 29 .…”

The Jaynes-Cummings model and its descendants

“…( 550) and ( 551), one can introduce a new quantum number for the mesoscospic ensemble of atoms which is equivalent to the number of photons n and is described by similar annihilation and creation operators [54]. Moving on to a hybrid system of unltracold atoms in interaction with the field of waveguide resonators, coherent coupling of a Rydberg transition of atoms trapped on an integrated superconducting chip to the microwave field of an on-chip coplanar waveguide resonator has been very recently reported in [1431]. The setup supports cavity-driven Rabi oscillations between a pair of Rydberg states of atoms in an inhomogeneous electric field near the atom chip surface.…”

Microwave-optical coupling via Rydberg excitons in cuprous oxide

“…Rydberg atoms show promise due to the large electric * Correspondence email address: m.p.a.jones@durham.ac.uk dipole moment associated with transitions between Rydberg states of opposite parity, which scales with principal quantum number, n, as n 2 . However compatibility between the laser cooling technology required for Rydberg atoms and the millikelvin dilution refrigerator environment of superconducting qubits is an ongoing challenge [20][21][22][23]. An alternative Rydberg platform which is more compatible with other solid state devices is offered by excitonic states in semiconductors.…”