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Entanglement-fidelity limits of photonically networked atomic qubits from recoil and timing

Yichao Yu*, Sagnik Saha, Mikhail Shalaev, George Toh, Jameson O'Reilly†, Isabella Goetting, Ashish Kalakuntla, and Christopher Monroe

  • Duke Quantum Center, Departments of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Physics, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708, USA

  • *Contact author: yyc1992@gmail.com
  • †Present address: Department of Physics, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97331, USA.
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Phys. Rev. A 113, 012620 – Published 23 January, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/82c6-4nkl

Abstract

The remote entanglement of two atomic quantum memories through photonic interactions is accompanied by atomic momentum recoil. When the interactions occur at different times, such as from the random emission over the lifetime of the atomic excited state, the difference in recoil timing can expose “which-path” information and ultimately lead to decoherence. Time-bin encoded photonic qubits can be particularly sensitive to asynchronous recoil timing. In this paper we study the limits of entanglement fidelity in atomic systems due to recoil and other timing imbalances and show how these effects can be suppressed or even eliminated through proper experimental design.

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Phys. Rev. A 113, 012620– Published 23 January, 2026
  • Received 28 March 2025
  • Revised 8 August 2025
  • Accepted 26 November 2025
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