Pascal Weckesser
Revealing the quantum properties of matter requires a high degree of experimental control accompanied by a profound theoretical understanding. At ultracold temperatures, quantities that appear continuous in everyday life, such as the…
The interplay of spin and charge degrees of freedom is believed to underlie various unresolved phenomena in strongly correlated systems. Quantum simulators based on neutral atoms provide an excellent testbed for investigating such phenomena…
Hybrid atom-ion systems are a rich and powerful platform for studying chemical reactions, as they feature both excellent control over the electronic state preparation and readout as well as a versatile tunability over the scattering energy,…
The competition of different length scales in quantum many-body systems leads to various novel phenomena, including the emergence of correlated dynamics or non-local order. To access and investigate such effects in an itinerant…
The relaxation behaviour of isolated quantum systems taken out of equilibrium is among the most intriguing questions in many-body physics. Quantum systems out of equilibrium typically relax to thermal equilibrium states by scrambling local…
The coupling of an isolated quantum state to a continuum is typically associated with decoherence and decreased lifetime. Here, we demonstrate that Rydberg macrodimers, weakly bound pairs of Rydberg atoms, can overcome this dissipative…
The Mott-insulating phase of the two-dimensional (2d) Bose-Hubbard model is expected to be characterized by a non-local brane parity order. Parity order captures the presence of microscopic particle-hole fluctuations and entanglement, whose…
Enhancing light-matter coupling at the level of single quanta is essential for numerous applications in quantum science. The cooperative optical response of subwavelength atomic arrays has been found to open new pathways for such strong…
Controlling physical systems and their dynamics on the level of individual quanta propels both fundamental science and quantum technologies. Trapped atomic and molecular systems, neutral and charged, are at the forefront of quantum science.…
Measurement-based quantum computing relies on the rapid creation of large-scale entanglement in a register of stable qubits. Atomic arrays are well suited to store quantum information, and entanglement can be created using highly-excited…
For conventional ion traps, the trapping potential is close to independent of the electronic state, providing confinement for ions dependent primarily on their charge-to-mass ratio $Q/m$. In contrast, storing ions within an optical dipole…
We study a method for mass-selective removal of ions from a Paul trap by parametric excitation. This can be achieved by applying an oscillating electric quadrupole field at twice the secular frequency $\omega_{\text{sec}}$ using pairs of…
The electronic and motional degrees of freedom of trapped ions can be controlled and coherently coupled on the level of individual quanta. Assembling complex quantum systems ion by ion while keeping this unique level of control remains a…
We provide a comprehensive theoretical framework for describing the dynamics of a single trapped ion interacting with a neutral buffer gas, thus extending our previous studies on buffer-gas cooling of ions beyond the critical mass ratio [B.…
We report on single Barium ions confined in a near-infrared optical dipole trap for up to three seconds in absence of any radio-frequency fields. Additionally, the lifetime in a visible optical dipole trap is increased by two orders of…