Twin matter waves for interferometry beyond the classical limit

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Abstract

Interferometers with atomic ensembles constitute an integral part of modern precision metrology. However, these interferometers are fundamentally restricted by the shot noise limit, which can only be overcome by creating quantum entanglement among the atoms. We used spin dynamics in Bose-Einstein condensates to create large ensembles of up to \(10^4\) pair-correlated atoms with an interferometric sensitivity \(-1.61^{+0.98}_{-1.1}\) dB beyond the shot noise limit. Our proof-of-principle results point the way toward a new generation of atom interferometers.

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Creation of a six-atom 'Schrödinger cat' state.

D Leibfried, E Knill, S Seidelin … (2005)

Among the classes of highly entangled states of multiple quantum systems, the so-called 'Schrödinger cat' states are particularly useful. Cat states are equal superpositions of two maximally different quantum states. They are a fundamental resource in fault-tolerant quantum computing and quantum communication, where they can enable protocols such as open-destination teleportation and secret sharing. They play a role in fundamental tests of quantum mechanics and enable improved signal-to-noise ratios in interferometry. Cat states are very sensitive to decoherence, and as a result their preparation is challenging and can serve as a demonstration of good quantum control. Here we report the creation of cat states of up to six atomic qubits. Each qubit's state space is defined by two hyperfine ground states of a beryllium ion; the cat state corresponds to an entangled equal superposition of all the atoms in one hyperfine state and all atoms in the other hyperfine state. In our experiments, the cat states are prepared in a three-step process, irrespective of the number of entangled atoms. Together with entangled states of a different class created in Innsbruck, this work represents the current state-of-the-art for large entangled states in any qubit system.

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Nonlinear atom interferometer surpasses classical precision limit

Tilman Zibold, Eike Nicklas, Christian E. Gross … (2010)

Interference is fundamental to wave dynamics and quantum mechanics. The quantum wave properties of particles are exploited in metrology using atom interferometers, allowing for high-precision inertia measurements [1, 2]. Furthermore, the state-of-the-art time standard is based on an interferometric technique known as Ramsey spectroscopy. However, the precision of an interferometer is limited by classical statistics owing to the finite number of atoms used to deduce the quantity of interest [3]. Here we show experimentally that the classical precision limit can be surpassed using nonlinear atom interferometry with a Bose-Einstein condensate. Controlled interactions between the atoms lead to non-classical entangled states within the interferometer; this represents an alternative approach to the use of non-classical input states [4-8]. Extending quantum interferometry [9] to the regime of large atom number, we find that phase sensitivity is enhanced by 15 per cent relative to that in an ideal classical measurement. Our nonlinear atomic beam splitter follows the "one-axis-twisting" scheme [10] and implements interaction control using a narrow Feshbach resonance. We perform noise tomography of the quantum state within the interferometer and detect coherent spin squeezing with a squeezing factor of -8.2dB [11-15]. The results provide information on the many-particle quantum state, and imply the entanglement of 170 atoms [16].

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High-NOON states by mixing quantum and classical light.

Itai Afek, Oron Ambar, Yaron R. Silberberg (2010)

Precision measurements can be brought to their ultimate limit by harnessing the principles of quantum mechanics. In optics, multiphoton entangled states, known as NOON states, can be used to obtain high-precision phase measurements, becoming more and more advantageous as the number of photons grows. We generated "high-NOON" states (N = 5) by multiphoton interference of quantum down-converted light with a classical coherent state in an approach that is inherently scalable. Super-resolving phase measurements with up to five entangled photons were produced with a visibility higher than that obtainable using classical light only.