European Conference on Trapped Ions (ECTI)

Coupling a spin qubit to a mechanical system provides a route to prepare the mechanical system's motion in nonclassical states, such as a Fock state or an entangled state. Such quantum states have already been realized with superconducting qubits coupled to clamped mechanical oscillators. We are interested in achieving an analogous coupling between a spin and a levitated oscillator — namely, a silica nanoparticle in a linear Paul trap — in order to take advantage of a levitated system's extreme isolation from its environment. In this case, we envision an atomic ion as the spin qubit.

I will present recent steps in this direction: First, we have adapted techniques originally developed for trapped atomic ions, including detection via self-interference and sympathetic cooling, for the domain of nanoparticles [1,2]. Second, we have confined a nanoparticle oscillator in ultra-high vacuum and obtained quality factors above 10¹⁰, evidence of the particle's extreme isolation from its environment [3]. Finally, we have trapped a calcium ion and a nanoparticle together in a linear Paul trap, taking advantage of a dual-frequency trapping scheme.

1. L. Dania, K. Heidegger, D. S. Bykov, G. Cerchiari, G. Arenada, T. E. Northup, Phys. Rev. Lett. 129, 013601 (2022)
2. D. S. Bykov, L. Dania, F. Goschin, T. E. Northup, Optica 10, 438 (2023)
3. L. Dania, D. S. Bykov, F. Goschin, M. Teller, T. E. Northup, arXiv:2304.02408