We give a quantum information-theoretic description of an ideal propagating CW laser field and reinterpret typical quantum-optical experiments in light of this. In particular we show that contrary to recent claims [T. Rudolph and B. C. Sanders, Phys. Rev. Lett. 87, 077903 (2001)], a conventional laser can be used for quantum teleportation with continuous variables and for generating continuous-variable entanglement. Optical coherence is not required, but phase coherence is. We also show that coherent states play a priveleged role in the description of laser light.
We comment on the theoretical quantum state of a propagating laser field proposed by van Enk and Fuchs [quant-ph/0104036, quant-ph/0111157] and clarify that the multimode description of the propagating laser field does not modify our analysis of continuous variable quantum teleportation [quant-ph/0103147]. Furthermore we point out that the ``complete measurements'' discussed by van Enk and Fuchs have not been achieved by existing technology and may not be possible even in principle.
Optical implementations of quantum communication protocols typically involve laser fields. However, the standard description of the quantum state of a laser field is surprisingly insufficient to understand the quantum nature of such implementations. In this paper, we give a quantum information-theoretic description of a propagating continuous-wave laser field and reinterpret various quantum-optical experiments in light of this. A timely example is found in a recent controversy about the quantum teleportation of continuous variables. We show that contrary to the claims of T. Rudolph and B. C. S…
We present an analysis of atomic diffraction due to the interaction of an atomic beam with a pair of Gaussian light pulses. We derive a simple analytical expression for the populations in different diffraction orders. The validity of the obtained solution extends beyond the Raman-Nath regime, where the kinetic energy associated with different diffraction peaks is neglected, into the so-called channeling regime where accurate analytical expressions have not previously been available for the diffraction. Comparison with experimental results and exact numerical solutions demonstrate the validity …
Distributing entangled photon pairs over noisy channels is an important task for various quantum information protocols. Encoding an entangled state in a decoherence-free subspace (DFS) formed by multiple photons is a promising way to circumvent the phase fluctuations and polarization rotations in optical fibres. Recently, it has been shown that the use of a counter-propagating coherent light as an ancillary photon enables us to faithfully distribute entangled photon with success probability proportional to the transmittance of the optical fibres. Several proof-of-principle experiments have bee…
The relativistic wave equations of a charged particle propagating in a classical monochromatic electromagnetic plane wave, in a medium of index of refraction n_m < 1, have been studied. In the Dirac case the found exact solutions [arXiv:1305.4370] are expressed in terms of new complex polynomials, and in the Klein-Gordon case they are expressed in term of Ince polynomials [arXiv:1306.0097]. In each case these solutions form a doubly infinite discrete set, parametrized by quantized momentum components of the charged particle along the polarization vector and along the propagation direction of t…
The gravitational field of a laser pulse, although not detectable at the moment, comes with a peculiar feature which continues to attract attention; cause and effect propagate with the same speed, that of light. A particular result of this feature is that the gravitational field of an emitted laser pulse and the gravitational effect of the emitter's energy-momentum change are intimately entangled. In this article, a specific example of an emission process is considered - an atom, modeled as a point mass, emits two counter-propagating pulses. The corresponding curvature and the effect on massiv…
We report on the study of the noise properties of laser light propagating through a cold 87Rb atomic sample held in a magneto-optical trap. The laser is tuned around the Fg = 2 \rightarrow Fe = 1, 2 D1 transitions of 87Rb. We observe quadrature-dependent noise in the light signal, an indication that it may be possible to produce squeezed states of light. We measure the minimum and maximum phase-dependent noise as a function of detuning and compare these results to theoretical predictions to explore the best conditions for light squeezing using cold atomic Rb.
We propose a scheme to generate double electromagnetically induced transparency and optimal cross-phase modulation for two slow, copropagating pulses with matched group velocities in a single species of atom, namely 87 Rb. A single pump laser is employed and a homogeneous magnetic field is utilized to avoid cancellation effects through the nonlinear Zeeman effect. We suggest a feasible preparational procedure for the atomic initial state to achieve matched group velocities for both signal fields.
By using a laser and maser in tandem, it is possible to obtain laser action in the hot exhaust gases involved in heat engine operation. Such a "quantum afterburner" involves the internal quantum states of working gas atoms or molecules as well as the techniques of cavity quantum electrodynamics and is therefore in the domain of quantum thermodynamics. As an example, it is shown that Otto cycle engine performance can be improved beyond that of the "ideal" Otto heat engine.
We propose a mechanism for producing Fock states on demand leaking from a single mode optical cavity interacting with a single atom and a laser pulse. The number of photons can be chosen, as it is determined by the Zeeman substructure of the ground state of the atom and its initial state. The deterministic generation of a free-propagating Fock state of $1\leq n\leq2F$ photons is achieved, when a circularly polarized laser pulse completely transfers the atomic population between Zeeman sublevels of the ground hyperfine state $F$ through far-detuned Raman scattering thus producing linearly polar…
We demonstrate a strong coherent backward wave oscillation using forward propagating fields only. This is achieved by applying laser fields to an ultra-dispersive medium with proper chosen detunings to excite a molecular vibrational coherence that corresponds to a backward propagating wave. The physics then has much in common with propagation of ultra-slow light. Applications to coherent scattering and remote sensing are discussed.
Laser fields can be shaped on a subwavelength scale as to have a specific distribution in spin angular momentum, orbital structure, or topology. We study how these various features affect the strongly nonlinear electron dynamics. Specifically, we derive closed expressions for the wave function of an unbound electron subject to a generally structured, intense laser field and demonstrate its use for imprinting the orbital angular momentum of a propagating optical vortex onto photoelectrons emitted from atoms and traveling through the optical vortex. It is also shown that photoelectrons can be ac…
In this paper we present an analysis of the spin behavior of electrons propagating through a laser field. We present an experimentally realizable scenario in which spin-dependent effects of the interaction between the laser and the electrons are dominant. The laser interaction strength and incident electron velocity are in the nonrelativistic domain. This analysis may thus lead to novel methods of creating and characterizing spin-polarized nonrelativistic femtosecond electron pulses.
We examine the properties of an atom laser produced by outcoupling from a Bose-Einstein condensate with squeezed light. We model the multimode dynamics of the output field and show that a significant amount of squeezing can be transfered from an optical mode to a propagating atom laser beam. We use this to demonstrate that two-mode squeezing can be used to produce twin atom laser beams with continuous variable entanglement in amplitude and phase.
The influence of the strong laser-driven vacuum on a propagating electromagnetic probe wave has been studied in detail. We investigate two scenarios comprising a focused probe laser beam passing through a region of vacuum polarised by an ultra-intense laser field. By splitting this strong field into two, separated, monochromatic Gaussian pulses counter-propagating in a plane perpendicular to the probe field axis, we demonstrate a leading order light-by-light diffraction effect that generates an interference pattern reminiscent of the classic double-slit experiment. We calculate the total numbe…
We discuss the use of a class of exact finite energy solutions to the vacuum source-free Maxwell equations as models for multi- and single cycle laser pulses in classical interaction with relativistic charged point particles. These compact solutions are classified in terms of their chiral content and their influence on particular charge configurations in space. The results of such classical interactions motivate a phenomenological quantum description of a propagating laser pulse in a medium in terms of an effective quantum Hamiltonian.
Quantum state reconstruction involves measurement devices that are usually described by idealized models, but not known in full detail in experiments. For weak propagating microwaves, the detection process requires linear amplifiers which obscure the signal with random noise. Here, we introduce a theory which nevertheless allows one to use these devices for measuring all quadrature moments of propagating quantum microwaves based on cross-correlations from a dual-path amplification setup. Simultaneously, the detector noise properties are determined, allowing for tomography. We demonstrate the f…
Atoms, propagating across a detuned standing laser wave, can be scattered in a chaotic way even in the absence of spontaneous emission and any modulation of the laser field. Spontaneous emission masks the effect in some degree, but the Monte Carlo simulation shows that it can be observed in real experiments by the absorption imaging method or depositing atoms on a substrate. The effect of chaotic scattering is explained by a specific behavior of the dipole moments of atoms crossing the field nodes and is shown to depend strongly on the value of the atom-laser detuning.
Laser trapping and interfacing of laser-cooled atoms in an optical fiber network is an important capability for quantum information science. Following the pioneering work of Balykin et al. and Vetsch et al., we propose a robust method of trapping single Cesium atoms with a two-color state-insensitive evanescent wave around a dielectric nanofiber. Specifically, we show that vector light shifts (i.e., effective inhomogeneous Zeeman broadening of the ground states) induced by the inherent ellipticity of the forward-propagating evanescent wave can be effectively canceled by a backward-propagating …
The gravitational field of a laser pulse of finite lifetime, is investigated in the framework of linearized gravity. Although the effects are very small, they may be of fundamental physical interest. It is shown that the gravitational field of a linearly polarized light pulse is modulated as the norm of the corresponding electric field strength, while no modulations arise for circular polarization. In general, the gravitational field is independent of the polarization direction. It is shown that all physical effects are confined to spherical shells expanding with the speed of light, and that t…
To quantify quantum optical coherence requires both the particle- and wave-natures of light. For an ideal laser beam [1,2,3], it can be thought of roughly as the number of photons emitted consecutively into the beam with the same phase. This number, $\mathfrak{C}$, can be much larger than $μ$, the number of photons in the laser itself. The limit on $\mathfrak{C}$ for an ideal laser was thought to be of order $μ^2$ [4,5]. Here, assuming nothing about the laser operation, only that it produces a beam with certain properties close to those of an ideal laser beam, and that it does not have externa…
Light carries energy, and therefore, it is the source of a gravitational field. The gravitational field of a beam of light in the short wavelength approximation has been studied by several authors. In this article, we consider light of finite wavelengths by describing a laser beam as a solution of Maxwell's equations and taking diffraction into account. Then, novel features of the gravitational field of a laser beam become apparent, such as frame-dragging due to its spin angular momentum and the deflection of parallel co-propagating test beams that overlap with the source beam. Even though the…
