Quantum Information Processing with Trapped Neutral Atoms

Quantum information can be processed using large ensembles of ultracold and trapped neutral atoms, building naturally on the techniques developed for high-precision spectroscopy and metrology. This article reviews some of the most important protocols for universal quantum logic with trapped neutrals, as well as the history and state-of-the-art of experimental work to implement these in the laboratory. Some general observations are made concerning the different strategies for qubit encoding, transport and interaction, including trade-offs between decoherence rates and the likelihood of two-qubit gate errors. These trade-offs must be addressed through further refinements of logic protocols and trapping technologies before one can undertake the design of a general-purpose neutral-atom quantum processor. PACS: 03.67.Lx, 32.80.Pj, 34.50.-s