Quantum Computing with Neutral Atoms

Immediately after the announcement of Shor's algorithm 30 years ago, the race to build a quantum computer began. Atomic, molecular, and optical systems were ready to hit the ground running with years of development and explorations of the foundations of quantum mechanics, tools in precision measurement, and methods to control and measure individual quantum systems: atoms, photons, single-mode quantum fields, etc. First out of the gate were trapped atomic ions, with the first demonstration of a CNOT gate by Chris Monroe and Dave Wineland, based on tools already in place for perfecting cold ion atomic clocks . Cold neutral atoms shared many of the same properties of their ionic cousins, and had the potential to scale to much larger controllable ensembles, but lagged in the ability for control and measurement at the single atom scale. All that changed in recent years with new methods including optical tweezer arrays, atomic gas microscopes, and well-control interactions based on Rydberg atoms. Today quantum computing with neutral atoms is the hottest thing around. In this talk I will describe the development of the subject, its history, the foundational underlying physics, and the cutting edge of research.