In 2011, the Argonne National Laboratory near Chicago developed the
Atom Trap Trace Analysis (ATTA), which "is so sensitive that it can capture and count individual atoms," according to Oregon State University's Christo Buizert, lead author of the new article.
A principal component of ALPHA's
atom trap is a superconducting octupole magnet proposed and prototyped in Berkeley Lab's AFRD.
Topics for students and researchers include mathematical formulas of
atom trap quantum gates, Poisson algebras and Yang-Baxter equations and topological order and entanglement.
I don't need to capture rubidium atoms in
atom trapsThe work is an important proof-of-principle, for it shows superposition can be achieved in silicon - the commonest electronic material - rather than in hugely expensive compounds or using sophisticated instruments called
atom traps.
Crucially our work shows that some of the quantum engineering already demonstrated by atomic physicists in very sophisticated instruments called cold
atom traps, can be implemented in the type of silicon chip used in making the much more common transistor," said Murdin.