Physics and Astronomy Colloquium

Fluorescence image of an array of 49 trapped atomic qubits

Quantum computing is a few decades old and is currently an area where there is great excitement, and rapid developments. A handful of distinct approaches have shown the capability of on demand generation of entanglement and execution of basic quantum algorithms.

One of the daunting challenges in developing a fault tolerant quantum computer is the need for a very large number of qubits. Neutral atoms are one of the most promising approaches for meeting this challenge. I will give a snapshot of the current status of quantum computing in general and atomic quantum computing in particular. The atomic physics underlying our ability to control neutral atom qubits will be described, and I will show how one of the most complicated atoms in the periodic table may lead to some simple solutions to hard problems.