Work

Engineering Zeeman-manifold quintets using state-dependent light shifts in neutral atoms

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: We present a general method for engineering qudits through individually addressable transitions between Zeeman sublevels, achieved by combining a large linear Zeeman shift with a state-dependent light shift. This approach lifts the degeneracy between adjacent states while simultaneously tuning their energy splittings into the radio-frequency (RF) domain, enabling coherent manipulation within the Zeeman manifold using experimentally accessible drive frequencies. As a concrete realization, we investigate the implementation of an SU ( 5 ) encoded in the Zeeman sublevels of the long-lived P 2 3 state of neutral Sr 88 atoms confined in far-detuned, σ − -polarized optical tweezers. Using realistic experimental parameters, we numerically demonstrate full control of the manifold, including initialization into a specific SU ( 5 ) basis state via a multiphoton transfer, coherent state- and site-selective single-qudit rotations driven by RF fields, and fast state-selective optical readout. Our simulations predict state-preparation fidelities of F ≃ 0.99 within less than 1 µ s , single-qudit gate fidelities of F ≃ 0.99 with π -pulse durations of ∼ 1.4 µ s , and fast destructive imaging with durations below 10 µ s under ideal conditions. These results establish a broadly applicable framework for high-fidelity control of Zeeman sublevel-encoded qudits and highlight the P 2 3 manifold in strontium as a promising platform for scalable qudit-based quantum technologies.

Source: Physical Review A

DOI: 10.1103/vcf2-d442