June 11, 2026 -- Researchers are developing new technologies that harness quantum physics to defy the familiar constraints of daily life and established approaches. A variety of quantum simulations, quantum sensors and quantum computers have been developed that can significantly outperform existing technologies at certain tasks.

Many quantum technologies are built on a foundation of qubits—the structures that store quantum states in ways that are practical to manipulate and interpret. Researchers and engineers are exploring many different approaches to making and using qubits, spanning platforms like superconducting circuits, trapped ions, neutral atoms and more. The various approaches have different advantages and disadvantages that are being navigated as quantum technologies are developed.

In an article published June 11, 2026 in the journal Nature Physics, a team of JILA researchers led by JILA Fellow Adam Kaufman, in collaboration with researchers at the University of Innsbruck in Austria, report experiments demonstrating the versatility of ytterbium atoms as qubits. A neutral ytterbium atom is an adaptable chameleon that can be used as multiple styles of qubit, each bringing distinct advantages. Their experiments demonstrate a quantum multitool that can tackle quantum computations, quantum simulations and precise measurements of time and also combine the capabilities associated with each application.

The group focused on a specific isotope of ytterbium, ytterbium-171, that has appealing features for multiple quantum applications. Scientists can use laser light to cool ytterbium-171 atoms, to hold the atoms in ordered arrays and to alter their quantum states. The properties of the atoms let them function as qubits in multiple ways. At a basic level, a qubit requires a pair of distinguishable states that can exist in combinations of the states called superpositions. The group’s experiments used a method they developed to transfer quantum states between three distinct ways of making qubits.

“Ytterbium-171 has long been used for state-of-the-art optical clocks and recently has become a promising candidate for neutral-atom quantum computing,” says Kaufman. “Our work here demonstrates how these directions can be combined, as well as augmented with other directions in quantum information science, including quantum many-body dynamics.”

One qubit approach used in the experiment is built on states of ytterbium-171 atoms that have been harnessed in clocks that provide incredibly precise and reliable timekeeping. Researchers put the electrons of atoms in particular states that facilitate very precise measurements. The two distinct states of ytterbium-171 used in clocks can also be the basis of a qubit—called an optical qubit.

Ytterbium-171 also has a different electron state that scientists find useful. When researchers provide additional energy to an electron, they can put the atom in a state called a Rydberg state. The extra energy pushes the electron further from the center of the atom. Putting atoms into the Rydberg state, takes them from being essentially non-interacting to being strongly interacting, which helps scientists craft quantum simulations and generate entanglement—a uniquely quantum phenomenon of quantum states where the evolution and fates of quantum states are intrinsically connected. The Rydberg state combined with one of the states from the clock qubit can function as a Rydberg qubit.

Finally, the nucleus of the atom has an inherent quantum property called spin—it is like a tiny magnet that can either point with or against a magnetic field. The group used the two states of nuclear spin pointing in opposite directions as the basis of a qubit, called a nuclear qubit. The resulting nuclear qubits are a convenient and reliable way to perform quantum computing operations.

Since the nuclear qubit is based on the spin of the nucleus, the researchers were free to use atoms with the electrons in a particular state of their choice. This let the team choose atomic states so that all three of their qubit types shared one of the states of the atom.

The group developed a way to move entangled quantum states between these distinct qubit paradigms. The team took advantage of the fact that shining a light of a particular frequency (color) can predictably change the state of the atoms even when they are entangled.

Since all three types of qubits share one of their two defining states, the superposition of that half of a qubit can be flipped to either of the alternative qubits. Then, the remaining half left in the original qubit can be moved to complete the new qubit. Since each pair of states responds to a different frequency of light, the team can alternate beams to direct the qubits through the necessary shuffling act of transferring a state.

The researchers demonstrated that they could move multi-particle states between pairs of qubits in the different paradigms and then performed an experiment bridging the three qubit styles and their corresponding domains of usefulness. They created a quantum state of the Rydberg qubit using techniques from the realm of quantum simulation and then passed it to the nuclear qubit, where they performed a quantum computing operation to slightly adjust it. Finally, they passed that state onto the clock qubit, where it could potentially be used to perform measurements related to time and frequency. The procedure demonstrates how ytterbium atoms can be the foundation of a device with the flexibility to shift between simulation, computing and metrology.

“This can connect quantum simulation to quantum computing to quantum metrology in a single atomic species,” says JILA graduate student Aruku Senoo, who was the first author of the article. “Once you make that kind of system, if you develop some technique for quantum simulation, you can apply it for quantum computing, or if you develop some state generation mechanism for quantum computing, you can apply it for quantum metrology.”

The researchers also showed that they could transfer quantum states that extended over larger numbers of qubits. The researchers at the University of Innsbruck had theoretically developed a method to calculate the optimal way to make a particular quantum state called the Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger (GHZ) states. The two groups worked together to identify the pulse of light needed for their experimental setup to create a GHZ state spread across as many of their qubits as they could manage. With the optimized light pulse, the team successfully made states with up to 20 Rydberg qubits at a time and then transferred them to nuclear qubits. The collaboration describes the theory behind this technique in an article published recently in the journal Physical Review Letters.

The extra steps to shuffle states around introduced more opportunities for errors to occur, but fortunately, the optical qubits provided a measurement method to circumvent many of the errors that popped up in their experiment. Using the optical qubits provided an improved method for the team to detect when tasks using Rydberg or nuclear qubits had produced an error where the atom was no longer in a valid state—for instance sometimes an atom will randomly release energy and leave the Rydberg state. Detecting one of these errors let the team throw out that measurement instead of proceeding with corrupted results.

They demonstrated that detecting such bad experimental runs could improve how reliably they made two qubits interact. Using the new technique and throwing out bad results, they achieved a two-qubit gate fidelity—a critical value used to judge a quantum computer—of 99.78% out of an ideal 100%.

“We show that we can do a very competitive two-qubit gate,” says JILA postdoctoral researcher Alexander Baumgärtner, who is an author of the paper. “It's one of the best neutral atom two-qubit gates that has been shown so far.”

The researchers say they hope that moving forward, their approach will allow the fields of quantum computing, simulation and metrology to intermix and share ideas. For instance, using quantum simulation and computing to generate useful states for quantum measurements.

“What we showed in the paper is just the beginning,” Senoo says. “What I'm excited about is pushing this forward.”