Coupling Free Electrons to a Trapped-Ion Quantum Computer

Physical Review Letters 2026 Open access

Read full text
Authors: Elias Pescoller, Santiago Beltrán-Romero, Sebastian Egginger, Nicolas Jungwirth, Martino Zanetti, Dominik Hornof, Michael Stanislaus Seifner, Iva Březinová, Philipp Haslinger, Thomas Juffmann, Johannes Kofler, Dennis Rätzel
+1 more Philipp Schindler
DOI: 10.1103/w6t7-9txs
Cited by: 0

Abstract

Freely propagating electrons may serve as quantum probes that can become coherently correlated with other quantum systems, offering access to advanced metrological resources. We propose a setup that coherently couples free electrons in an electron microscope to a trapped-ion quantum processor, enabling nondestructive, quantum-coherent detection and the accumulation of information across multiple electrons. Our analysis shows that single electrons can induce resolvable qubit excitations, establishing a platform for practical applications such as quantum-enhanced, dose-efficient electron microscopy.

Fields of Study & Subjects

Quantum Information and Cryptography Quantum Mechanics and Applications Advanced Electron Microscopy Techniques and Applications

Publication details

Journal / source
Physical Review Letters
Volume
137
Issue
15
Publication date
16 July 2026
Language
EN