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Quantum Technologies with Ultracold Atoms
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Quantum Technologies with Ultracold Atoms

A special issue of Atoms (ISSN 2218-2004).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2026) | Viewed by 4834

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Klejdja Xhani

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Applied Science and Technology (DISAT), Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi, 24, 10129 Torino, Italy
Interests: Bose–Einstein condensates; fermionic superfluids; quantum many-body theories; atomtronics; quantum computing; quantum simulations
Dr. Chiara Mazzinghi

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
INO-CNR, Largo Enrico Fermi 6, Florence, Italy
Interests: atomic and quantum optics; Bose–Einstein condensate; magnetometry; quantum interferometry; quantum simulation
Dr. Giulia Del Pace

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Florence, Via Sansone 1, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
Interests: quantum gases; strongly correlated systems; superfluidity; quantum simulation; atomtronics

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue focuses on the versatile and rapidly advancing field of quantum technologies, emphasizing the pivotal role that ultracold atoms play in this cutting-edge research area. An ultracold sample of atoms, cooled to temperatures near absolute zero, exhibit macroscopic phase coherence, which serves as the basis for various applications in quantum science and technology, providing an ideal platform for exploring fundamental quantum phenomena and developing advanced technologies.

Key research areas:

  • Quantum simulation: Ultracold atoms act as sophisticated quantum simulators, enabling scientists to model complex systems from condensed matter physics to cosmological mysteries. With unprecedented control over trapping potentials and interaction strengths at ultra-low temperatures, researchers can address fundamental questions on superfluidity and phase transitions.
  • Quantum information and computing: the remarkable ability to maintain coherence and to be manipulated into qubits—through various atomic states or species—make ultracold atoms suitable for implementing quantum gates and algorithms.
  • Atomtronic circuits: this new emerging field utilizes ultracold atoms to create circuits analogous to electronic circuits, both for demonstrating fundamental physics phenomena and for implementing new quantum devices and sensors.
  • Metrology and sensing: Thanks to their low thermal noise characteristics, ultracold atoms enable highly precise measurements in metrology. Applications range from atomic clocks—essential for GPS and telecommunications due to their unparalleled accuracy—to high-resolution spectroscopy that allows researchers to study atomic transitions with minimal disturbances by confining ultracold atoms in engineered traps.

This issue aims to collect contributions from these different key research areas, highlighting both the theoretical advancements and the experimental implementation of ultracold atom technologies. Contributions from researchers will provide a comprehensive overview of the current challenges, breakthroughs, and future directions in this exciting field.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Klejdja Xhani
Dr. Chiara Mazzinghi
Dr. Giulia Del Pace
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Atoms is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1500 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • ultracold atoms
  • quantum simulations
  • atomtronic
  • quantum computing
  • quantum information
  • quantum sensing

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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15 pages, 10342 KB  
Article
Single Sr Atoms in Optical Tweezer Arrays for Quantum Simulation
by Veronica Giardini, Luca Guariento, Andrea Fantini, Shawn Storm, Massimo Inguscio, Jacopo Catani, Giacomo Cappellini, Vladislav Gavryusev and Leonardo Fallani
Atoms 2026, 14(1), 1; https://doi.org/10.3390/atoms14010001 - 19 Dec 2025
Viewed by 1579
Abstract
We report on the realization of a platform for trapping and manipulating individual 88Sr atoms in optical tweezers. A first cooling stage based on a blue shielded magneto-optical trap (MOT) operating on the [...] Read more.
We report on the realization of a platform for trapping and manipulating individual 88Sr atoms in optical tweezers. A first cooling stage based on a blue shielded magneto-optical trap (MOT) operating on the |1S0⟩→|1P1⟩ transition at 461 nm enables us to trap approximately 4 × 106 atoms at a temperature of 6.8 mK. Further cooling is achieved in a narrow-line red MOT using the |1S0⟩→|3P1⟩ intercombination transition at 689 nm, bringing 5 × 105 atoms down to 5μK and reaching a density of 4 × 1010 cm3. Atoms are then loaded into 813 nm tweezer arrays generated by crossed acousto-optic deflectors and tightly focused onto the atoms with a high-numerical-aperture objective. Through light-assisted collision processes we achieve the collisional blockade, which leads to single-atom occupancy with a probability of about 50%. The trapped atoms are detected via fluorescence imaging with a fidelity of 99.986(6)%, while maintaining a survival probability of 97(2)%. The release-and-recapture measurement provides a temperature of 12.92(5)μK for the atoms in the tweezers, and the ultra-high-vacuum environment ensures a vacuum lifetime higher than 7 min. These results demonstrate a robust alkaline-earth tweezer platform that combines efficient loading, cooling, and high-fidelity detection, providing the essential building blocks for scalable quantum simulation and quantum information processing with Sr atoms. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Quantum Technologies with Ultracold Atoms)
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16 pages, 1681 KB  
Article
Thermal–Condensate Collisional Effects on Atomic Josephson Junction Dynamics
by Klejdja Xhani and Nick P. Proukakis
Atoms 2025, 13(8), 68; https://doi.org/10.3390/atoms13080068 - 22 Jul 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1804
Abstract
We investigate how collisional interactions between the condensate and the thermal cloud influence the distinct dynamical regimes (Josephson plasma, phase-slip-induced dissipative regime, and macroscopic quantum self-trapping) emerging in ultracold atomic Josephson junctions at non-zero subcritical temperatures. Specifically, we discuss how the self-consistent dynamical [...] Read more.
We investigate how collisional interactions between the condensate and the thermal cloud influence the distinct dynamical regimes (Josephson plasma, phase-slip-induced dissipative regime, and macroscopic quantum self-trapping) emerging in ultracold atomic Josephson junctions at non-zero subcritical temperatures. Specifically, we discuss how the self-consistent dynamical inclusion of collisional processes facilitating the exchange of particles between the condensate and the thermal cloud impacts both the condensate and the thermal currents, demonstrating that their relative importance depends on the system’s dynamical regime. Our study is performed within the full context of the Zaremba–Nikuni–Griffin (ZNG) formalism, which couples a dissipative Gross–Pitaevskii equation for the condensate dynamics to a quantum Boltzmann equation with collisional terms for the thermal cloud. In the Josephson plasma oscillation and vortex-induced dissipative regimes, collisions markedly alter dynamics at intermediate-to-high temperatures, amplifying damping in the condensate imbalance mode and inducing measurable frequency shifts. In the self-trapping regime, collisions destabilize the system even at low temperatures, prompting a transition to Josephson-like dynamics on a temperature-dependent timescale. Our results show the interplay between coherence, dissipation, and thermal effects in a Bose–Einstein condensate at a finite temperature, providing a framework for tailoring Josephson junction dynamics in experimentally accessible regimes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Quantum Technologies with Ultracold Atoms)
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