Quantum Gates on Individually-Addressed Atomic Qubits Subject to Noisy Transverse Motion

Individual trapped atomic qubits represent one of the most promising technologies to scale quantum computers, owing to their negligible idle errors and the ability to implement a full set of reconfigurable gate operations via focused optical fields. However, the fidelity of quantum gate operations can be limited by weak confinement of the atoms transverse to the laser. We present measurements of this effect by performing individually-addressed entangling gates in chains of up to 25 trapped atomic ions that are weakly confined along the chain axis. We present a model that accurately describes the observed decoherence from the residual heating of the ions caused by noisy electric fields. We propose to suppress these effects through the use of ancilla ions interspersed in the chain to sympathetically cool the qubit ions throughout a quantum circuit.