Engineering artificial atomic systems of giant electric dipole moment

Abstract

The electric dipole moment (EDM) plays a crucial role in determining the interaction strength of an atom with electric fields, making it paramount to quantum technologies based on coherent atomic control. We propose a scheme for engineering the potential in a Paul trap to realize a two-level quantum system with a giant EDM formed by the motional states of a trapped electron. We show that, under realistic experimental conditions, the EDM can significantly exceed the ones attainable with Rydberg atoms. Furthermore, we show that such artificial atomic dipoles can be efficiently initialized, readout, and coherently controlled, thereby providing a potential platform for quantum technologies such as ultrahigh-sensitivity electric-field sensing.