and form entangled states. The properties of
these collective excitations, such as polaritons of light and phonons in
semiconductors, can combine the benefits of each subsystem. In the emerging
field of quantum information control, a promising direction is provided by the
combination between long-lived atomic states and the accessible electrical
degrees of freedom in superconducting cavities and qubits. Here we demonstrate
the possibility to integrate circuit cavity quantum electrodynamics with
phonons. Besides coupling to a microwave cavity, our superconducting transmon
qubit interacts with a resonant phonon mode in a micromechanical resonator,
allowing the combination of long lifetime, strong tunable coupling, and ease of
access. We measure the phonon Stark shift, as well as the splitting of the
transmon qubit spectral line into motional sidebands representing transitions
between electromechanical polaritons formed by phonons and the qubit. In the
time domain, we observe coherent sideband Rabi oscillations between the qubit
states and phonons. This advance may allow for storage of quantum information
in long-lived phonon states, and for investigations of strongly coupled quantum
systems near the classical limit.
Hybrid circuit cavity quantum electrodynamics with a micromechanical resonator
Hybrid quantum systems with inherently distinct degrees of freedom play a key
role in many physical phenomena. A strong coupling can make the constituents
loose their individual character