Chiral discrimination through holonomic quantum coherent control with a trapped-ion qudit

Abstract

A novel optical method for distinguishing chiral molecules is proposed and tested within a quantum simulator employing a trapped-ion qudit. This approach correlates the sign disparity of the dipole moment of chiral molecules with distinct cyclic evolution trajectories, yielding the unity population contrast induced by the different non-Abelian holonomies corresponding to the chirality. Harnessing the principles of holonomic quantum computation, our method can achieve highly efficient, non-adiabatic, and robust detection and separation of chiral molecules. Demonstrated in a trapped $ ^{171}\textrm{Yb}^+$ ion testbed, this scheme achieves high contrast in the population of a specific state, showcasing its resilience to the noise inherent in the driving field.

Keywords

• chiral discrimination
• holonomic quantum coherent control
• trapped ion
• quantum simulation