Atoms and Molecules as Quantum Attosecond Processors

Fuente: arXiv
Enregistré dans:
Détails bibliographiques
Auteur principal: Farhi, Asaf
Format: Preprint
Publié: 2025
Sujets:
Accès en ligne:
Tags: Ajouter un tag
Pas de tags, Soyez le premier à ajouter un tag!
_version_ 1866908619495178240
author Farhi, Asaf
author_facet Farhi, Asaf
contents Advancing temporal resolution in computation, signal modulation, and measurement is crucial for pushing the frontiers of modern science and technology. Optical resonators have recently demonstrated computational operations at frequencies beyond the gigahertz range, surpassing conventional electronics, yet remain constrained by an inherent trade-off between temporal resolution and operation time -- limiting performance to the picosecond scale. Here we show that atoms and molecules can overcome this limitation, enabling attosecond-level temporal resolution with over 100,000-fold higher precision than state-of-the-art optical resonators while sustaining long operation times. When resonantly driven, these systems naturally perform temporal integration of the incident field envelope -- a process verified by solving the Bloch equations using four independent formulations in excellent agreement with analytic predictions. We identify feasible atomic transitions and excitation schemes realizable with current technology. Furthermore, we suggest techniques to differentiate and generate waveforms at such resolution. These results establish a new paradigm for attosecond-resolution optical computation, signal modulation, and ultrafast control in atomic and quantum systems.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2506_03482
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Atoms and Molecules as Quantum Attosecond Processors
Farhi, Asaf
Optics
Atomic Physics
Advancing temporal resolution in computation, signal modulation, and measurement is crucial for pushing the frontiers of modern science and technology. Optical resonators have recently demonstrated computational operations at frequencies beyond the gigahertz range, surpassing conventional electronics, yet remain constrained by an inherent trade-off between temporal resolution and operation time -- limiting performance to the picosecond scale. Here we show that atoms and molecules can overcome this limitation, enabling attosecond-level temporal resolution with over 100,000-fold higher precision than state-of-the-art optical resonators while sustaining long operation times. When resonantly driven, these systems naturally perform temporal integration of the incident field envelope -- a process verified by solving the Bloch equations using four independent formulations in excellent agreement with analytic predictions. We identify feasible atomic transitions and excitation schemes realizable with current technology. Furthermore, we suggest techniques to differentiate and generate waveforms at such resolution. These results establish a new paradigm for attosecond-resolution optical computation, signal modulation, and ultrafast control in atomic and quantum systems.
title Atoms and Molecules as Quantum Attosecond Processors
topic Optics
Atomic Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.03482