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Quantum Control of Atomic Collisions for Quantum Information Processing


ABSTRACT:  One of the ultimate challenges in physics is the quantum control of many-body systems. In recent years, quantum information theory has provided us with a new perspective: A set of single body operations and any entangling two-body operation is all that is needed to control or simulate a given many-body system. Neutral atoms in optical traps and lattices are an excellent testing-ground for developing this control and present a promising paradigm for universal quantum computation.

Our studies of atomic collisions have enabled us to identify a new knob for controlling the two-body interaction between trapped atoms: Trap-induced resonances. I will show how these surprising new resonances can be used to implement two-qubit operations. I apply this to a realistic atomic species and describe our model of neutral atom quantum computing in addressable optical lattice systems. I will also discuss our generalized pseudopotential method that not only allows an accurate description of interactions in the system in question, but is widely applicable to atomic many-body systems.