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Abstract:

We describe a technique for manipulating quantum information stored in collective states of mesoscopic ensembles. Quantum processing is accomplished by optical excitation into states with strong dipole-dipole interactions. The resulting "dipole blockade" can be used to inhibit transitions into all but singly excited collective states. This can be employed for a controlled generation of collective atomic spin states as well as nonclassical photonic states and for scalable quantum logic gates. An example involving a cold Rydberg gas is analyzed.

Abstract:

The relative phase of two initially independent Bose-Einstein condensates can be laser cooled to unite the two condensates by putting them into a ring cavity and coupling them with an internal Josephson junction. First, we show that this phase cooling process already appears within a semiclassical model. We calculate the stationary states, find regions of bistable behavior, and suggest a Ramsey-type experiment to measure the buildup of phase coherence between the condensates. We also study quantum effects and imperfections of the system.

Abstract:

We consider the case of a cubic nonlinear Schrödinger equation with an additional chaotic potential, in the sense that such a potential produces chaotic dynamics in classical mechanics. We derive and describe an appropriate semiclassical limit to such a nonlinear Schrödinger equation, using a semiclassical interpretation of the Wigner function, and relate this to the hydrodynamic limit of the Gross-Pitaevskii equation used in the context of Bose-Einstein condensation. We investigate a specific example of a Gross-Pitaevskii equation with such a chaotic potential, the one-dimensional δ-kicked harmonic oscillator, and its semiclassical limit, discovering in the process an interesting interference effect, where increasing the strength of the repulsive nonlinearity promotes localization of the wave function. We explore the feasibility of an experimental realization of such a system in a Bose-Einstein condensate experiment, giving a concrete proposal of how to implement such a configuration, and considering the problem of condensate depletion. ©2000 The American Physical Society.

Abstract:

We propose several schemes for implementing a fast two-qubit quantum gate for neutral atoms with the gate operation time much faster than the time scales associated with the external motion of the atoms in the trapping potential. In our example, the large interaction energy required to perform fast gate operations is provided by the dipole-dipole interaction of atoms excited to low-lying Rydberg states in constant electric fields. A detailed analysis of imperfections of the gate operation is given.