Vladislav Gavryusev - University of Florence

 Quantum Simulation and Computation with neutral Sr and Yb Rydberg atoms in tweezer arrays

Electronically highly excited (Rydberg) atoms constitute a system with controllable long-range interactions which allows to study and simulate analogically many intriguing phenomena, ranging from quantum non-linear optics to quantum magnetism and dipole-mediated energy transport. Moreover, they enable to realize quantum gates and implement several digital quantum computation architectures. The underlying dynamics depend on the structure, dimensionality and interaction type of the physical system. Disentangling and controlling their contributions is an open problem, whose solution may empower new technology, including realizing large general-purpose quantum computers.

We are developing two complementary neutral-atom platforms based on alkaline-earth(-like) atoms to advance both quantum simulation and quantum computation leveraging ultracold neutral atoms individually trapped in optical tweezer arrays. The Sr apparatus is tailored towards analog quantum simulation, where long-range Rydberg-mediated interactions between individually trapped atoms enable realizing programmable Ising- and Heisenberg-type spin models with arbitrary one- to three-dimensional topology and single-site resolution. In parallel, the Yb platform is designed for digital quantum computation: the nuclear-spin qubit can be encoded in both the electronic ground state and the metastable state, Raman transitions enable fast and coherent single-qubit gates, and Rydberg excitation provides a route to high-fidelity multiqubit entangling operations. By combining these approaches, we aim to establish a versatile neutral-atom architecture capable of probing new regimes of correlated quantum matter and advancing the development of scalable, fault-tolerant quantum information processing.