Person:

Thompson, Jeffrey Douglas

We investigate quantum control of a single atom in a tightly focused optical tweezer trap. We show that inevitable spatially varying polarization gives rise to significant internal-state decoherence but that this effect can be mitigated by an appropriately chosen magnetic bias field. This enables Raman sideband cooling of a single atom close to its three-dimensional ground state (vibrational quantum numbers (\bar n_x=\bar n_y=0.01, \bar n_z=8)) even for a trap beam waist as small as (\omega=900  nm). The small atomic wave packet with (\delta x=\delta y=24  nm) and (\delta z=270  nm) represents a promising starting point for future hybrid quantum systems where atoms are placed in close proximity to surfaces.

Strong interactions between light and atoms at the single-quantum level are an important ingredient for quantum technologies, as well as for studies of fundamental effects in quantum optics. This thesis describes the development of a novel experimental platform that allows for trapping a single rubidium atom in the evanescent mode of a nano-fabricated optical cavity with sub-wavelength dimensions. By virtue of their small size, these cavities provide extremely large atom-photon coupling strengths and good prospects for scalability and integration into complex quantum optical circuits. Positioning the atom near the nano-structure is accomplished using a scanning optical tweezer dipole trap. As a first application, we have demonstrated a coherent optical switch, where a single gate photon controls the propagation of many subsequent signal photons, with the interaction mediated by the atom and cavity. We have also shown that the optical response of the combined atom-cavity system is nonlinear at the level of one or two photons.

By analogy to transistors in classical electronic circuits, quantum optical switches are important elements of quantum circuits and quantum networks1, 2, 3. Operated at the fundamental limit where a single quantum of light or matter controls another field or material system4, such a switch may enable applications such as long-distance quantum communication5, distributed quantum information processing2 and metrology6, and the exploration of novel quantum states of matter7. Here, by strongly coupling a photon to a single atom trapped in the near field of a nanoscale photonic crystal cavity, we realize a system in which a single atom switches the phase of a photon and a single photon modifies the atom’s phase. We experimentally demonstrate an atom-induced optical phase shift8 that is nonlinear at the two-photon level9, a photon number router that separates individual photons and photon pairs into different output modes10, and a single-photon switch in which a single ‘gate’ photon controls the propagation of a subsequent probe field11, 12. These techniques pave the way to integrated quantum nanophotonic networks involving multiple atomic nodes connected by guided light.

Hybrid quantum devices, in which dissimilar quantum systems are combined in order to attain qualities not available with either system alone, may enable far-reaching control in quantum measurement, sensing, and information processing. A paradigmatic example is trapped ultracold atoms, which offer excellent quantum coherent properties, coupled to nanoscale solid-state systems, which allow for strong interactions. We demonstrate a deterministic interface between a single trapped rubidium atom and a nanoscale photonic crystal cavity. Precise control over the atom's position allows us to probe the cavity near-field with a resolution below the diffraction limit and to observe large atom-photon coupling. This approach may enable the realization of integrated, strongly coupled quantum nano-optical circuits.