Another way to approach zero entropy for a finite system of atoms

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Another way to approach zero entropy for a finite system of atoms

D. S. Weiss, J. Vala, A. V. Thapliyal, S. Myrgren, U. Vazirani, and K. B. Whaley

Phys. Rev. A 70, 040302(R) – Published 29 October 2004

Abstract

We propose a way to manifestly reduce the entropy of a finite system of atoms to arbitrarily small values. First, the locations of vacancies of laser-cooled atoms in a deep optical lattice are measured. Then, the distribution is efficiently compacted using a combination of site-specific atomic state flips and state-sensitive lattice site translations. In the final state, the central region of the lattice has exactly one atom per site in its vibrational ground state. This is a good initial state for a quantum computer. The process can be understood to be an experimentally viable Maxwell demon with a memory.

Received 5 September 2003

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.70.040302

Authors & Affiliations

D. S. Weiss¹, J. Vala², A. V. Thapliyal³, S. Myrgren², U. Vazirani³, and K. B. Whaley²

¹Department of Physics, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802-6300, USA
²Department of Chemistry and Pitzer Center for Theoretical Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
³Department of Computer Science, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA

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Issue

Vol. 70, Iss. 4 — October 2004

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Physical Review A

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