Quantum Computation, Spectroscopy of Trapped Ions, and Schrodinger's Cat

Abstract

We summarize efforts at NIST to implement quantum computation using trapped ions, based on a scheme proposed by J.I. Cirac and P. Zoller (Innsbruck University). The use of quantum logic to create entangled states, which can maximize the quantum-limited signal-to-noise ratio in spectroscopy, is discussed.

6 pages, no figures. To appear in Proc. 6th Int. Symp. on Foundations of Quantum Mechanics in the Light of New Technology, K. Fujikawa and Y. A. Ono, eds. (Elsevier Science press)