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Ultrafast Spin-Motion Entanglement in Single Atomic Qubits

Jonathan Mizrahi, Joint Quantum Institute, University of Maryland

(Session 6b : Friday from 2:30 - 3:00)

Abstract. We experimentally demonstrate entanglement between the spin and motional degrees of freedom of a trapped ion on a timescale of 15 ns. This entanglement is create by extracting single pulses from a picosecond mode-locked laser, which are then split into short pulse trains. By tuning the spectrum of this pulse train appropriately, the ion can receive a spin-dependent kick, in which the spin states receive momentum kicks in opposite directions. Pairs of these momentum kicks can then be used to create an interferometer, in which the motional wavepacket is split and recombined. This technique should open the door to ultrafast, scalable entangling gates whose speed are not limited by the trap frequency.