Quantum science with optical tweezer arrays of ultracold atoms and molecules

• Published in: Nature physics Vol. 17; no. 12; pp. 1324 - 1333
• Main Authors: Kaufman, Adam M., Ni, Kang-Kuen
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 01.12.2021; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: 639/766/36; 639/766/483; Arrays; Atomic; Classical and Continuum Physics; Complex Systems; Condensed Matter Physics; Cooling; Data processing; Experiments; Ion beams; Lasers; Light beams; Mathematical and Computational Physics; Molecular; Optical and Plasma Physics; Optics; Phase transitions; Physics; Physics and Astronomy; Quantum computing; Quantum phenomena; Review Article; Theoretical; Ultracold atoms
• ISSN: 1745-2473; 1745-2481
• DOI: 10.1038/s41567-021-01357-2

Single atoms and molecules can be trapped in tightly focused beams of light that form ‘optical tweezers’, affording exquisite capabilities for the control and detection of individual particles. This approach has progressed to creating tweezer arrays holding hundreds of atoms, resulting in a platform for controlling large many-particle quantum systems. Here we review this new approach to microscopic control of scalable atomic and molecular neutral quantum systems, its future prospects, and applications in quantum information processing, quantum simulation and metrology. Large arrays of atoms and molecules can be arranged and controlled with high precision using optical tweezers. This Review surveys the latest methodological advances and their applications to quantum technologies.