RIKEN Quantum Lecture by Takafumi Tomita on December 26, 2023

In this lecture, the recent rapid progress of cold-atom quantum computers was reviewed. In a cold-atom quantum computer, a laser-cooled atomic gas in a vacuum chamber is captured with a two-dimensional trap array called an optical tweezers array, which is an array of tightly focused laser beams. An array of cold single atoms thus created is initialized, gate operated, and readout with other laser beams. Because of its controllability and scalability, the cold-atom quantum computer has been attracting much attention, as one of the most promising candidates in the race to develop quantum-computer hardware. The lecturer described the characteristics and development trends of the cold-atom hardware, as well as the development of a cold-atom quantum computer at Institute for Molecular Science including the realization of an ultrafast quantum gate using ultrashort laser pulses.

Reported by Yuta Sekino