Earnshaw Medal
Earnshaw 2008 Nominees: Danny Lynch
A Single Qubit Gate
Any model of information theory must fulfil two requirements – the ability to store and manipulate data. The quantum bit or “qubit” is a proposed alternative to classical bits, that has heralded the era of quantum information theory. The qubit is based on two values, the “0” and “1”; however, in contract to classical logic, the qubit can also be a superposition of these values. This allows for more information to be encoded in a qubit compared to a classical bit. In this project we considered two qubit systems and their analogies. The first is based on energy levels of an atom, while the second is based on dipole potential traps that hold an atom. In particular, the “0” occurs if there is no atom in the trap while the “1” occurs when an atom is present. As quantum mechanically the location of an atom is probabilistic, a superposition of the two states is feasible if an atom tunnels in or out of the trap, thereby generating a qubit of information. By comparing these qubit systems, we investigated the coherent manipulation of a neutral atom in a series of traps using analogies to the STIRAP method used in energy level systems.
Supervisor: Dr. Thomas Busch
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