Analog Quantum Simulations in Arrays of Surface Ion Traps (AQUAS)
Final Report Abstract
A rich and powerful toolbox for individually trapped atomic ions is available for quantum information processing, including quantum metrology and analogue experimental quantum simulation (AQS), demonstrating control with highest fidelities. Building on this success, our novel architecture for AQSs aims at setting up fully controlled and reconfigurable quantum lattices by individually trapped ions in multi-dimensional arrangements. This project includes identifying the prospect to address relevant problems that can be treated exploiting the platform of individually trapped ions in one and two dimensions, providing the required controllability and permitting means for benchmarking the reliability. We aim at identifying the features and limitations of the architecture and to study the crucial steps towards mid and long-term simulation applications. selected, main experimental scientific results are : Floquet-Engineered Vibrational Dynamics in a Two-Dimensional Array of Trapped Ions: we show individual, real-time controlled Floquet engineering of the motion of ions located at microsites in a scalable two-dimensional trap array. In contrast to previous approaches for quantum simulations, where phonons are exploited as mediating bus, we attribute them an active role. In particular, the periodic drive enables tunneling of vibrational quanta between ions in different traps, mimicking charged particles. We control the flow of phonons on multiple pathways, their directionality and their interference. The tunneling phase can be interpreted as a geometric phase generated by synthetic gauge fields. Our findings open a new route for future Floquet-based trapped-ion quantum simulators, e.g. targeting correlated topological phenomena and dynamical gauge fields. Interference in a Prototype of a Two-Dimensional Ion Trap Array Quantum Simulator: we operate a basic triangular array of three individually trapped ions based on scalable microfabrication technology. We demonstrate coherent coupling, tunable in real time and enabling interference in 2D, an essential building block for a reconfigurable quantum simulator. We demonstrated tunable, coherent intersite coupling, sequential coupling, and interference between all three sites, via coherent states of motion. Phonon Pair Creation (parametric driving for squeezing): Quantum theory predicts intriguing dynamics during drastic changes of external conditions. We switch the trapping field of two ions sufficiently fast to create pairs of phonons and, thereby, squeeze the ions’ motional state, accompanied by the formation of spatial entanglement. This process can also be interpreted as an experimental analog to cosmological particle creation. Hence, our platform allows to study the causal connections of squeezing, pair creation, entanglement and might permit to cross-fertilize between concepts in cosmology and applications of quantum information processing. Campus talks at ARD αlpha: „War früher, ohne Quanten, alles besser?“ – 08.06.2020) https://www.br.de/mediathek/video/prof-dr-tobias-schaetz-war-frueher-ohne-quanten-alles-besser-und-waere-es-heute-ohne-quanten-einfacher-av:5edb2f891f1824001bffa708
Publications
- A trapped-ion simulator for spin-boson models with structured environments New J. Phys. 20, 073002 (2018)
A. Lemmer, C. Cormick, D. Tamascelli, T. Schaetz, S. F. Huelga and M. B. Plenio
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1088/1367-2630/aac87d) - Hybrid setup for stable magnetic fields enabling robust quantum control Sci. Rep. 8, 4404 (2018)
F. Hakelberg, P. Kiefer, M. Wittemer, T. Schaetz, U. Warring
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-22671-5) - Ion trap analogue of particle creation in cosmology Phys. Rev. A 98, 033407 (2018)
P. C. Fey, T. Schaetz, R. Schützhold
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.98.033407) - Measurement of quantum memory effects and its fundamental limitations Phys. Rev. A 97, 020102(R), (2018)
M. Wittemer, G. Clos, H. Breuer, U. Warring and T. Schaetz
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.97.020102) - Floquet-engineered vibrational dynamics in a two-dimensional array of trapped ions Phys. Rev. Lett. 123, 213605 (2019)
P. Kiefer, F. Hakelberg, M. Wittemer, A. Bermúdez, D. Porras, U. Warring, T. Schaetz
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.123.213605) - Interference in a Prototype of a two-dimensional Ion Trap Array Quantum Simulator Phys. Rev. Lett. 123 100504 (2019)
F. Hakelberg, P. Kiefer, M. Wittemer, U. Warring, T. Schaetz
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.123.100504) - Phonon pair creation by inflating quantum fluctuations in an ion trap Phys. Rev. Lett. 123, 180502 (2019)
M.Wittemer, F.Hakelberg, P.Kiefer, J.Schröder, C.Fey, R.Schützhold, U.Warring, T.Schaetz
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.123.180502) - Trapped Ion Architecture for Multi‐Dimensional Quantum Simulations Adv. Quantum Technol. 1900137 (2020)
U. Warring, F. Hakelberg, P. Kiefer, M. Wittemer, T. Schaetz
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1002/qute.201900137) - Trapped-ion toolkit for studies of quantum harmonic oscillators under extreme conditions Philosophical Transactionsof the Royal Society 378, 20190230, (2020)
M. Wittemer, J.P. Schröder, F. Hakelberg, P. Kiefer, C. Fey, R. Schuetzhold, U. Warring, T. Schaetz
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2019.0230) - Continuously Parametrized Quantum Simulation of Molecular Electron-Transfer Reactions PRX Quantum 2, 010314 (2021)
F.Schlawin, M.Gessner, A.Buchleitner, T.Schätz, S.Skourtis
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1103/PRXQuantum.2.010314)
