Optimally shaped terahertz pulses for phase retrieval in a Rydberg-atom data register

Abstract

We employ optimal control theory to discover an efficient information-retrieval algorithm that can be performed on a Rydberg-atom data register using a shaped terahertz pulse. The register is a Rydberg wave packet with one consituent orbital phase reversed from the others (the “marked bit”). The terahertz pulse that performs the decoding algorithm does so by driving electron probability density into the marked orbital. Its shape is calculated by modifying the target of an optimal-control problem so that it represents the direct product of all correct solutions to the algorithm.