A Quantum Interface Between Neutral-Atoms and Trapped-Ions Quantum Registers

Hybrid quantum systems combining neutral atoms and trapped ions offer the prospect of integrating the scalability of atom arrays with the high-fidelity control available in trapped-ion platforms.

Here we propose and analyze a quantum interface between individually trapped neutral atoms and a trapped-ion crystal.

In our scheme, a neutral 88Sr atom trapped in optical tweezers interacts with a small 88Sr+ ion crystal, and by exciting the atom to a Rydberg state, the atom-ion polarization interaction is strongly enhanced, resulting in a state-dependent modification of the ions' collective motional modes.

We show that this shift enables conditional control of a MS gate, allowing the neutral atom to act as a control qubit for an entangling operation between two ions.

We investigate the feasibility of the scheme by analyzing Rydberg trapping in the combined optical tweezers and Paul trap potentials, identifying negative-polarizability Rydberg states as particularly favorable for stable confinement.

We further evaluate the relevant trapping conditions, Rydberg lifetimes, and coherence requirements, and show that the proposed interface is compatible with realistic experimental parameters.

These results establish a practical route toward deterministic atom-ion hybrid quantum gates and quantum interfaces.