Rydberg atom data register: A use of atomic electronic states for information storage

Quantum computation has experienced a steady growth in interest in recent years. With the rapid development of quantum technologies, the quantum mechanical nature of physical systems is becoming an increasingly important part of future industrial technology. The Rydberg atom is one of the best test tubes in which to attempt programmable coherent control because of our in-depth understanding of both atomic physics and ultrafast optics. We demonstrate the use of Rydberg atoms for processing quantum information and implementing quantum algorithms.;We adopted N Rydberg energy levels of Cesium atom to store information. The phases of the energy states were each programmed and coherently evolve in time with the encoded information. A coherent manipulation then transferred the information contained in the phases to state amplitudes. The programming and the converting of the information in the data register were both performed by ultrafast optical pulses. We implemented an N-state Rydberg atom data register, with N = 6 and 8.;Using half-cycle pulses (HCP), we devised methods which perform unitary operations on this data register. Application of the HCP, or terahertz short pulse, to wave packets prepared with one energy state phase-reversed with respect to the others yields a much simpler wave packet. This interaction forced multi-mode interference which constructively interfered only for the phase-flipped state. An impulsive model calculation as well as direct integration of the time-dependent Schrodinger equation showed good agreement with the experimental data.;Related to the quantum algorithms, the pseudo-unitary operation implemented by the HCP had a similar structural form to the Grover's inversion-about-average operation. For the same reasons that lead to the Grover's quantum state amplification, the state amplitude of the energy state whose phase was reversed robbed atomic population from all other states. Our implementation of the Grover's inversion-about-average operation has accomplished most of Grover's search protocol. In order to improve upon our implementation and to attempt other quantum algorithms, we conclude that a sophisticated shaping of terahertz pulses is required.