Freiburg 2019 – scientific programme

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FM: Fall Meeting

FM 37: Open and Complex Quantum Systems II

FM 37.7: Talk

Tuesday, September 24, 2019, 15:30–15:45, 3042

Observation and stabilization of photonic Fock states in a hot radio-frequency resonator — Mario F. Gely¹, •Christian Dickel^{3, 1}, Marios Kounalakis¹, Jacob Dalle¹, Remy Vatre¹, Brian Baker², Mark D. Jenkins¹, and Gary A. Steele¹ — ¹Kavli Institut of Nanoscience, Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands — ²Department of Physics and Astronomy, Northwestern University, United States of America — ³Institute of Physics II, University of Cologne, Germany

In quantum mechanics, the ultimate limit of a weak field is a single-photon. Detecting and manipulating single photons at megahertz frequencies presents a challenge because thermal fluctuations are significant, even at millikelvin temperatures. Here, we use a superconducting transmon qubit to directly observe photon-number splitting of the transition frequency due to a megahertz electrical resonator. Using the qubit, we achieve quantum control over thermal photons, sideband cooling the system and stabilizing photonic Fock states. Releasing the resonator from our control, we directly observe its re-thermalization with nanosecond resolution. Extending circuit quantum electrodynamics to a new regime, we enable the exploration of thermodynamics with photon-number resolution and allow interfacing quantum circuits with megahertz systems, for example, electro-mechanical oscillators.