An atomtronics transistor for quantum gates

•We propose quantum gates with qubits encoded in the atomic position in a triple-well potential.•Presence or absence of atom B in the middle well controls whether atom A switches its position between the two extreme wells.•Analogous mechanism can be applied to control dynamics of Bose–Einstein condensates as in the transistor effect.•The theory is supplemented with a feasibility study with Rb and Na atoms.

We present a mechanism for quantum gates where the qubits are encoded in the population distribution of two-component ultracold atoms trapped in a species-selective triple-well potential. The gate operation is a specific application of a different design for an atomtronics transistor where inter-species interaction is used to control transport, and can be realized with either individual atoms or aggregates like Bose–Einstein condensates (BEC). We demonstrate the operational principle with a static external potential, and show feasible implementation with a smooth dynamical potential.