Possibility of "magic" trapping of three-level system for Rydberg blockade implementation

The Rydberg blockade mechanism has shown noteworthy promise for scalable quantum computation with neutral atoms. Both qubit states and gate-mediating Rydberg state belong to the same optically-trapped atom. The trapping fields, while being essential, induce detrimental decoherence. Here we theoretically demonstrate that this Stark-induced decoherence may be completely removed using powerful concepts of “magic” optical traps. We analyze “magic” trapping of a prototype three-level system: a Rydberg state along with two qubit states: hyperfine states attached to a J=1/2 ground state. Our numerical results show that, while such a “magic” trap for alkali metals would require prohibitively large magnetic fields, the group IIIB metals such as Al are suitable candidates.