Abstract: In cavity quantum electrodynamics (cavity QED) systems, the realization of strong coupling between light and atoms plays a critical role in studying quantum optics and entanglement. At the same time, the Rydberg atom arrays provide a promising platform for exploring many-body physics. However, with the Rydberg-mediated interactions, the atoms mainly interact with each other locally. Combining the cavity QED and Rydberg arrays systems opens up new research directions in many-body physics with long-range interactions, creating a fully connected quantum network. Here, we introduce a new high-finesse cavity QED setup designed for Rydberg arrays. The setup has a state-of-the-art single-atom cooperativity and will allow more than 50 atoms in the array. In addition, this platform enables the creation of the Rydberg superatom, an ensemble of atoms acting as a two-level system. Combining the superatoms with the high-finesse cavity, we expect to increase the single-atom cooperativity by 2 or 3 orders of magnitude. I will present the progress toward realizing strong coupling using this setup. I will also discuss the potential applications of studying long-range spin physics.
Virtual location: https://umd.zoom.us/j/99534083844