A coherent quantum interface between a neutral atom and a polar molecule
Abstract
Arrays of trapped neutral atoms and polar molecules have separately emerged as powerful and complementary platforms for quantum science. Neutral atoms enable fast, programmable interactions through excitation to Rydberg states, whereas polar molecules possess long-lived rotational states that are attractive for quantum memories and qudits. Combining these platforms would create new possibilities, but requires a coherent interface between individual atoms and molecules, which so far has not been realised. Here, we establish such an interface between a single neutral atom and a single polar molecule. By tuning atomic and molecular transitions into resonance, we realise strong state-dependent dipolar interactions at micrometre separations in an optical tweezer platform with single-particle control. We exploit this interface to perform quantum operations between the two particles, demonstrating atom-mediated readout of a molecular qubit, coherent spin exchange, and entanglement using a blockade-based controlled-NOT operation. These results establish a new hybrid quantum platform at the intersection of atomic and molecular physics, in which long-lived molecular quantum information can be rapidly mapped onto an atom for readout or onward coherent transfer. The platform provides a route to hybrid quantum processors utilising atom-mediated readout and entanglement of molecular qubits, mixed-species quantum simulators of dipolar systems, and macroscopic entangled molecular states for quantum-enhanced metrology and precision sensing.
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BibTeX
@misc{ruttley2026coherent,
title = {{A coherent quantum interface between a neutral atom and a polar molecule}},
author = {Daniel K. Ruttley and Tom R. Hepworth and Juan M. García-Garrido and Caleb J. H. Rich and Rosario González-Férez and Alexander Guttridge and Simon L. Cornish},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2607.15976},
eprint = {2607.15976},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2607.15976},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - A coherent quantum interface between a neutral atom and a polar molecule
AU - Daniel K. Ruttley
AU - Tom R. Hepworth
AU - Juan M. García-Garrido
AU - Caleb J. H. Rich
AU - Rosario González-Férez
AU - Alexander Guttridge
AU - Simon L. Cornish
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/28
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2607.15976
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2607.15976
AB - Arrays of trapped neutral atoms and polar molecules have separately emerged as powerful and complementary platforms for quantum science. Neutral atoms enable fast, programmable interactions through excitation to Rydberg states, whereas polar molecules possess long-lived rotational states that are attractive for quantum memories and qudits. Combining these platforms would create new possibilities, but requires a coherent interface between individual atoms and molecules, which so far has not been realised. Here, we establish such an interface between a single neutral atom and a single polar molecule. By tuning atomic and molecular transitions into resonance, we realise strong state-dependent dipolar interactions at micrometre separations in an optical tweezer platform with single-particle control. We exploit this interface to perform quantum operations between the two particles, demonstrating atom-mediated readout of a molecular qubit, coherent spin exchange, and entanglement using a blockade-based controlled-NOT operation. These results establish a new hybrid quantum platform at the intersection of atomic and molecular physics, in which long-lived molecular quantum information can be rapidly mapped onto an atom for readout or onward coherent transfer. The platform provides a route to hybrid quantum processors utilising atom-mediated readout and entanglement of molecular qubits, mixed-species quantum simulators of dipolar systems, and macroscopic entangled molecular states for quantum-enhanced metrology and precision sensing.
ER -