Loss compensated fluorescence detection of cold atoms for highfidelity quantum states measurement

The technique of laser cooling and trapping of neutral atoms has emerged as a powerful tool, enabling various research pursuits and applications including precision spectroscopy, quantum information processing, atom interferometry and quantum computing. To harness the full potential of cold atom systems in evolving technologies, characterizing the losses occurring during accurate atom counting becomes crucial. Here, we investigate the limiting noise sources existing during detection of an ensemble of cold 133Cs atoms in free space by measuring the one-body loss rate constant, γ, due to collisions with the background gases, and two-body loss rate constant, β, arising from inelastic collisions due to light assisted collisions. Upon identifying the losses occurring in the atomic cloud, we have deduced the loss compensated atom number as a function of photon scattering rate. We further study the loss rates at different detunings of the imaging light. These investigations help in counting the accurate atom numbers in free space. Our study paves the way to achieve high fidelity read out of quantum states for applications in quantum computing and sensing.