Deborah Jin Award for Outstanding Doctoral Thesis Research in Atomic, Molecular, or Optical Physics Recipient: Quantum Information Processing and Quantum Simulation with Programmable Rydberg Atom Arrays

A frontier challenge in quantum science and technology is the construction of scalable quantum systems which can operate in regimes beyond classical simulatability. Such systems can be used as tools for simulating complex phenomena in quantum physics, as well as for applications in quantum information processing. In this talk, I will discuss the development of an apparatus featuring individual control of hundreds of atoms. Atoms are trapped in optical tweezers and sorted in real-time into programmable geometries in one and two dimensions. After initialization of an array, interactions are switched on by coherent excitation to highly excited Rydberg states, resulting in a rich many-body spin Hamiltonian. Within this platform, we explore quantum phases which emerge in several different lattice geometries, ranging from simple antiferromagnetic ordered phases to a complex quantum spin liquid phase which emerges on a frustrated ruby lattice. We additionally develop this platform into a quantum information architecture in which qubits are encoded in hyperfine atomic levels and Rydberg states are used for high-fidelity entangling gates. We show that hyperfine qubits can be transported and rearranged while preserving coherence, enabling dynamically reconfigurable gate connectivity, and demonstrate this tool by creating several entangled graph states. This work highlights the features and opportunities for scalable quantum simulation and quantum information processing using neutral atom arrays.