Anna Soper

All Publications

• A cavity-array microscope for parallel single-atom interfacing. Nature Shaw, A. L., Soper, A., Shadmany, D., Kumar, A., Palm, L., Koh, D. Y., Kaxiras, V., Taneja, L., Jaffe, M., Schuster, D. I., Simon, J. 2026

  Abstract

  Neutral-atom arrays and optical cavity quantum electrodynamics systems have developed in parallel as central pillars of modern experimental quantum science1-3. Although each platform has shown exceptional capabilities-such as high-fidelity quantum logic4-7 in atom arrays and strong light-matter coupling in cavities8-10-their combination holds promise for realizing fast and non-destructive atom measurement11, building large-scale quantum networks12-17 and engineering hybrid atom-photon Hamiltonians18-20. However, so far, experiments integrating the two platforms have been limited to spatially interfacing the entire atom array with one global cavity mode21-26, a configuration that constrains addressability, parallelism and scalability. Here we introduce the cavity-array microscope, an experimental platform where each individual atom is strongly coupled to its own individual cavity across a two-dimensional array of over 40 modes. Our approach requires no nanophotonic elements26,27, and instead uses a free-space cavity geometry with intra-cavity lenses28,29 to realize above-unity peak cooperativity with micrometre-scale mode waists and spacings, compatible with typical atom-array length scales while keeping atoms far from dielectric surfaces. We achieve homogeneous atom-cavity coupling and show fast, non-destructive, parallel readout on millisecond timescales, including through a fibre array as a proof of principle for networking applications30. As an outlook, we realize a next-generation iteration of the platform with over 500 cavities and a nearly 10-fold improvement in finesse. Our work unlocks the regime of many-cavity quantum electrodynamics and opens an unexplored frontier of large-scale quantum networking with atom arrays.

  View details for DOI 10.1038/s41586-025-10035-9

  View details for PubMedID 41606334

  View details for PubMedCentralID 10567572

• Cavity QED in a high NA resonator. Science advances Shadmany, D., Kumar, A., Soper, A., Palm, L., Yin, C., Ando, H., Li, B., Taneja, L., Jaffe, M., David, S., Simon, J. 2025; 11 (9): eads8171

  Abstract

  From fundamental studies of light-matter interaction to applications in quantum networking and sensing, cavity quantum electrodynamics (QED) provides a toolbox to control interactions between atoms and photons. The coherence of interactions is determined by the single-pass atomic absorption and number of photon round-trips. Reducing the cavity loss has enabled resonators supporting 1 million roundtrips but with limited material choices and increased alignment sensitivity. Here, we present a high-numerical aperture, lens-based resonator that pushes the single-atom single-photon absorption probability near its fundamental limit, reducing the mode size at the atom to order λ. This resonator provides a single-atom cooperativity of 1.6 in a cavity where the light circulates ∼10 times. We load single 87Rb atoms into this cavity, observe strong coupling, and demonstrate cavity-enhanced atom detection with fidelity of 99.55(6)% and survival of 99.89(4)% in 130 μs. Introducing intracavity imaging systems will enable cavity arrays compatible with Rydberg atom array computing technologies, expanding the applicability of the cavity QED toolbox.

  View details for DOI 10.1126/sciadv.ads8171

  View details for PubMedID 40009689

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC11864187

• A cavity loadlock apparatus for next-generation quantum optics experiments. The Review of scientific instruments Yin, C., Ando, H., Stone, M., Shadmany, D., Soper, A., Jaffe, M., Kumar, A., Simon, J. 2023; 94 (8)

  Abstract

  Cavity quantum electrodynamics (QED), the study of the interaction between quantized emitters and photons confined in an optical cavity, is an important tool for quantum science in computing, networking, and synthetic matter. In atomic cavity QED, this approach typically relies upon an ultrahigh vacuum chamber that hosts a cold trapped atomic ensemble and an optical cavity. Upgrading the cavity necessitates a months-long laborious process of removing external optics, venting, replacing the resonator, baking, and replacing optics, constituting a substantial bottleneck to innovation in resonator design. In this work, we demonstrate that the flexibility of optical cavities and the quick turnaround time in switching between them can be restored with the vacuum loadlock technique-reducing the cycle time to install a cavity, bake it, and transport it into the science chamber for days, achieving 3 × 10-10 Torr pressure in the science chamber. By reducing vacuum limitations, this approach is particularly powerful for labs interested in quickly exploring novel optic cavities or any other atomic physics relying on in-vacuum optics.

  View details for DOI 10.1063/5.0145769

  View details for PubMedID 38065169