Sub-femtosecond optical control of entangled states

Entanglement is one of the most fascinating aspects distinguishing quantum from classical physics. It is the backbone of quantum information processing which relies on engineered quantum systems. It also exists in natural systems such as atoms and molecules, showcased in many experimental instances...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inarXiv.org
Main Authors Shobeiry, Farshad, Fross, Patrick, Hemkumar Srinivas, Pfeifer, Thomas, Moshammer, Robert, Harth, Anne
Format Paper
LanguageEnglish
Published Ithaca Cornell University Library, arXiv.org 13.10.2021
Subjects
Control systems
Data processing
Electron emission
Elementary particles
Entangled states
Optical control
Particle physics
Photodissociation
Photons
Quantum computing
Quantum entanglement
Quantum phenomena
Superconductivity
Time
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Summary:Entanglement is one of the most fascinating aspects distinguishing quantum from classical physics. It is the backbone of quantum information processing which relies on engineered quantum systems. It also exists in natural systems such as atoms and molecules, showcased in many experimental instances mostly in the form of entangled photon pairs and a few examples of entanglement between massive particles. Nevertheless, the control of entanglement in natural systems has never been demonstrated. In artificially prepared quantum systems, on the other hand, the creation and manipulation of entanglement lies at the heart of quantum computing currently implemented in a wide array of two-level systems (e.g. trapped ions, superconducting and semiconductor systems). These processes are, however, relatively slow: the time scale of the entanglement generation and control ranges from a couple of {\mu}s in case of trapped-ion quantum systems down to tens of ns in superconducting systems. In this letter, we show ultrafast optical control of entanglement between massive fundamental particles in a natural system on a time scale faster than that available to engineered systems. We demonstrate the sub-femtosecond control of electronic entangled states in a single hydrogen molecule by applying few-photon interactions with adjustable relative delays. This molecular entanglement is revealed in the asymmetric electron emission with respect to the ejected proton in the photodissociation of H2. We anticipate that these results open the way to entanglement-based operations at THz speed.
ISSN:2331-8422