Experimental Demonstration of a Technique to Generate Arbitrary Quantum Superposition States of a Harmonically Bound Spin-1/2Particle

Abstract

Using a single, harmonically trapped ${{}^{\mathrm{9}}\mathrm{B}\mathrm{e}}^{+}$ ion, we experimentally demonstrate a technique for generation of arbitrary states of a two-level particle confined by a harmonic potential. Rather than engineering a single Hamiltonian that evolves the system to a desired final state, we implement a technique that applies a sequence of simple operations to synthesize the state.