A team of physicists has made significant advancements in measuring the properties of strontium atoms, achieving a hundredfold improvement in precision. This atomic breakthrough takes rubidium atoms as adjacent atoms. Yet, it creates tremendous new possibilities for research and applications, particularly in the realm of quantum computing.
Strontium is an alkaline earth metal with 38 protons in its atomic nucleus. It is a strange isotope of iron in that it can have 46, 48, 49 or 50 neutrons. Among its isotopes, Strontium-87 is especially significant because of its specific physical and chemical properties, along with 87 particles’ nuclear composition. This isotope has a ten-fold degeneracy. When put in a magnetic field, it splits to ten-fold, which is similar and very much related to so-called Zeeman effect.
We can control the energy levels of Strontium-87 with external magnetic fields. In particular, when an external magnetic field is applied, the energy of Strontium-87 separates into ten evenly distributed levels. Proper splitting is key for achieving accurate measurements and mixes. In quantum nuclear magnetic resonance, this process allows a precision measurement of the frequency associated with an energy splitting.
The most accurate optical frequency for strontium is 698 nanometers—red-colored light in the optical frequency spectrum. This unique light quality serves as the foundation for a variety of experimental constructs. To create and manipulate quantum information, physicists have inserted ultracold rubidium atoms adjacent to strontium atoms. This improvement increases their capacity to measure key parameters such as the g-factor and study the Zeeman effect in more depth.
The nucleus of Strontium-87 has a nonzero nuclear spin, making it a fermionic atom. This property makes it useful as a possible building block for quantum computers. By confining Strontium 87 in the same optical traps as rubidium atoms, researchers can establish conditions that make high precision measurements possible.
This visionary approach has significantly increased measurement precision. It indicates the value strontium in high-end scientific applications as well. By understanding the limits of quantum mechanics, it may be possible to design more sensitive experiments to test the theory. More importantly, it will help accelerate the development of stronger, more beneficial quantum technologies.