Title: Harnessing quantum tunneling: spatial transport and interferometry of ultracold atoms in optical tweezers

Abstract:

Optical tweezers can trap and manipulate single atoms, offering significant potential for advancing quantum technologies in computation, simulation, and sensing. Recently, we developed a tweezer array apparatus using fermionic atoms, harnessing coherent tunneling for quantum logic and wave-packet control. In this talk, I will present an experiment demonstrating Spatial Adiabatic Passage (SAP) of atoms across three tweezers via precise control of tunneling dynamics. SAP enables the transfer of a wave packet between non-directly coupled localized modes through an intermediate, unoccupied mode. I will explain how similar adiabatic processes can be extended to realize topological pumps and atomic beam splitters—key components of a novel proposal for guided atomic interferometry using optical tweezers. This interferometer allows for extended probing times, sub-micrometer positioning accuracy, and greater flexibility in shaping atomic trajectories. I will discuss two applications ideally suited to this system: measuring gravitational forces and investigating Casimir-Polder forces between atoms and surfaces. Finally, I will show how tweezer-based interferometry can be extended to clock interferometry, potentially testing the quantum twin paradox and probing quantum coherence in the context of gravitational time dilation