Entangling Two Individual Atoms of Different Isotopes via Rydberg Blockade.

We report on the first experimental realization of the controlled-not (cnot) quantum gate and entanglement for two individual atoms of different isotopes and demonstrate a negligible cross talk between two atom qubits. The experiment is based on a strong Rydberg blockade for ^{87}Rb and ^{85}Rb atoms confined in two single-atom optical traps separated by 3.8  μm.

Shortcut to Adiabaticity for an Anisotropic Gas Containing Quantum Defects.

We present a shortcut to adiabaticity (STA) protocol applicable to 3D unitary Fermi gases and 2D weakly interacting Bose gases containing defects such as vortices or solitons. Our protocol relies on a new class of exact scaling solutions in the presence of anisotropic time-dependent harmonic traps. It connects stationary states in initial and final traps having the same frequency ratios.

Interaction-induced decay of a heteronuclear two-atom system.

Two-atom systems in small traps are of fundamental interest for understanding the role of interactions in degenerate cold gases and for the creation of quantum gates in quantum information processing with single-atom traps. One of the key quantities is the inelastic relaxation (decay) time when one of the atoms or both are in a higher hyperfine state. Here we measure this quantity in a heteronuclear system of (87)Rb and (85)Rb in a micro optical trap and demonstrate experimentally and theoretically the presence of both fast and slow relaxation processes, depending on the choice of the initial hyperfine states.

Fast thermalization and Helmholtz oscillations of an ultracold Bose gas.

We analyze theoretically the transport properties of a weakly interacting ultracold Bose gas enclosed in two reservoirs connected by a constriction. We assume that the transport of the superfluid part is hydrodynamic, and we describe the ballistic transport of the normal part using the Landauer-Büttiker formalism. Modeling the coupled evolution of the phase, atom number, and temperature mismatches between the reservoirs, we predict that Helmholtz (plasma) oscillations can be observed at nonzero temperatures below Tc.

Increasing quantum degeneracy by heating a superfluid.

We consider a uniform superfluid confined in two compartments connected by a superleak and initially held at equal temperatures. If one of the two compartments is heated, a fraction of the superfluid will flow through the superleak. We show that, under certain thermodynamic conditions, the atoms flow from the hotter to the colder compartment, contrary to what happens in the fountain effect observed in superfluid helium.