Quantum theoretical treatment of coherent forward scattering of light in a polarized atomic ensemble with an arbitrary angular momentum is developed. We consider coherent forward scattering of a weak radiation field interacting with a realistic multi-level atomic transition. Based on the concept of an effective Hamiltonian and on the Heisenberg formalism, we discuss the coupled dynamics of the quantum fluctuations of the polarization Stokes components of propagating light and of the collective spin fluctuations of the scattering atoms. We show that in the process of coherent forward scattering this dynamics can be described in terms of a polariton-type spin wave created in the atomic sample. Our work presents a general example of entangling process in the system of collective quantum states of light and atomic angular momenta, previously considered only for the case of spin-1/2 atoms. We use the developed general formalism to test the applicability of spin-1/2 approximation for modelling the quantum non-demolishing measurement of atoms with a higher angular momentum.
A method of reversible quantum optical data storage is presented using resonant Raman field excited spin coherence, where the spin coherence is stored in an inhomogeneously broadened spin ensemble. Unlike the photon echo method, present technique uses a 2 pi Raman optical rephasing pulse, and multimode (parallel) optical channels can be utilized, where the multimode access gives a great benefit to both all-optical and quantum information processing.
In this article the ability to record, store, and read out the quantum properties of light is studied. The discussion is based on high-speed and adiabatic models of quantum memory in lambda-configuration and in the limit of strong resonance. We show that in this case the equality between efficiency and squeezing ratio, predicted by the simple beamsplitter model, is broken. The requirement of the maximum squeezing in the output pulse should not be accompanied by the requirement of maximum efficiency of memory, as in the beamsplitter model. We have demonstrated a high output pulse squeezing, whe…
The resonant interaction between two two-level atoms and m- electromagnetic modes in a cavity is considered. Entanglement dynamics between two atoms is examined. In particular we compare dynamical variations for different cavity modes as well as for different cavity photon numbers. The collapse and revival of entanglement is exhibited by varying the atom-photon interaction times.
A scheme for spatial multimode quantum memory is developed such that spatial-temporal structure of a weak signal pulse can be stored and recalled via cavity-assisted off-resonant Raman interaction with a strong angular-modulated control field in an extended $Λ$-type atomic ensemble. It is shown that effective multimode storage is possible when the Raman coherence spatial grating involves wave vectors with different longitudinal components relative to the paraxial signal field. The possibilities of implementing the scheme in the solid-state materials are discussed.
We show that an Optical Parametric Oscillator which is simultaneously resonant for several modes, either spatial or temporal, generates both below and above threshold a multimode non-classical state of light consisting of squeezed vacuum states in all the non-oscillating modes. We confirm this prediction by an experiment dealing with the degenerate TEM$_{01}$ and TEM$_{10}$ modes. We show the conservation of non-classical properties when the threshold is crossed. The experiment is made possible by the implementation of a new method to lock the relative phase of the pump and the injected beam.
Deep optical lattices are considered, in each site of which there are many Bose-condensed atoms. By the resonant modulation of trapping potentials it is possible to transfer a macroscopic portion of atoms to the collective nonlinear states corresponding to topological coherent modes. Entanglement can be generated between these modes. By varying the resonant modulating field it is possible to effectively regulate entanglement production in this multimode multitrap system of Bose condensates.
We present the possibility of steering the direction of correlations between the off-resonant Raman scattered photons from the angularly multimode atomic memory based on warm rubidium vapors. Using acousto-optic deflectors (AOD) driven by different modulation frequencies we experimentally change the angle of incidence of the laser beams on the atomic ensemble. Performing correlations measurements for various deflection angles we verify that we can choose the anti-Stokes light propagation direction independently of the correlated Stokes scattered light in the continuous way. As a result we can …
We study spatial multimode quantum memories based on light storage in extended ensembles of Lambda-type atoms. We show that such quantum light-matter interfaces allow for highly efficient storage of many spatial modes. In particular, forward operating memories possess excellent scaling with the important physical parameters: quadratic scaling with the Fresnel number and even cubic with the optical depth of the atomic ensemble. Thus, the simultaneous use of both the longitudinal and transverse shape of the stored spin wave modes constitutes a valuable and so far overlooked resource for multimod…
We present a general model for an atomic memory using ultra-short pulses of light, which allows both spatial and temporal multimode storage. The process involves the storage of a faint quantum light pulse into the spin coherence of the ground state of Lambda-type 3-level atoms, in the presence of a strong driving pulse. Our model gives a full description of the evolution of the field and of the atomic coherence in space and time throughout the writing and the read-out processes. It is valid for any frequency detuning, from the resonant case to the Raman case, and allows a detailed optimization…
Scattering of a short (much shorter then the spontaneous lifetime) laser pulse has been considered in a dense resonant medium subject to local field effects. The system was studied in the limit of Hartree-Fock approximation for Bogolubov-Born-Green-Kirkwood-Yvon (BBGKY) hierarchy of equations for reduced density operators. A closed set of equations for atomic and field density operators was derived to describe stimulated scattering of radiation. Numerically as well as theoretically the capability of multicomponent spectrum with maximums multiple to Rabi frequency has been demonstrated. Relativ…
We study the coherent storage and retrieval of a very short multimode light pulse in an atomic ensemble. We consider a quantum memory process based on the conversion of a signal pulse into a long-lived spin coherence via light matter interaction in an on-resonant Lambda-type system. In order to study the writing and reading processes we analytically solve the partial differential equations describing the evolution of the field and of the atomic coherence in time as well as in space. We show how to optimize the process for writing as well as for reading. If the medium length is fixed, for each …
The addition of nonlinearity to an harmonic resonator provides a route to complex dynamical behaviour of resonant modes, including coupling between them. We present a superconducting device that makes use of the nonlinearity of Josephson junctions to introduce a controlled, tunable, nonlinear inductance to a thin film coplanar waveguide resonator. Considering the device as a potential quantum optical component in the microwave regime, we create a sensitive bifurcation amplifier and then demonstrate spectroscopy of other resonant modes via the intermode coupling. We find that the sensitivity of…
We present a protocol for the teleportation of the quantum state of a pulse of light onto the collective spin state of an atomic ensemble. The entangled state of light and atoms employed as a resource in this protocol is created by probing the collective atomic spin, Larmor precessing in an external magnetic field, off resonantly with a coherent pulse of light. We take here for the first time full account of the effects of Larmor precession and show that it gives rise to a qualitatively new type of multimode entangled state of light and atoms. The protocol is shown to be robust against the dom…
The quantum interface (QI) that generates entanglement between photonic and spin-wave (atomic memory) qubits is a basic building block for quantum repeaters. Realizing ensemble-based repeaters in practice requires quantum memory providing long lifetime and multimode capacity. Significant progresses have been achieved on these separate goals. The remaining challenge is to combine long-lived and multimode memories into a single QI. Here, by establishing multimode, magnetic-field-insensitive and long-wavelength spin-wave storage in laser-cooled atoms that are placed inside a phase-passively-stabi…
A cold dilute atomic gas in an optical resonator can be radiatively cooled by coherent scattering processes when the driving laser frequency is tuned close but below the cavity resonance. When sufficiently illuminated, moreover, the atoms' steady state undergoes a phase transition from homogeneous density to crystalline order. We characterize the dynamics of this self-ordering process in the semi-classical regime when distinct cavity modes with commensurate wavelengths are quasi-resonantly driven by laser fields via scattering by the atoms. The lasers are simultaneously applied and uniformly i…
We propose and discuss a scheme for robust and efficient generation of many-particle entanglement in an ensemble of Rydberg atoms with resonant dipole-dipole interactions. It is shown that in the limit of complete dipole blocking, the system is isomorphic to a multimode Jaynes-Cummings model. While dark-state population transfer is not capable of creating entanglement, other adiabatic processes are identified that lead to complex, maximally entangled states, such as the N-particle analog of the GHZ state in a few steps. The process is robust, works for even and odd particle numbers and the cha…
The sources, which generate atom-photon quantum correlations or entanglement based on quantum memory, are basic blocks for building quantum repeaters (QRs). For achieving highly entanglement-generation rates in ensemble-based QRs, spatial-, temporal- and spectral-multimode memories are needed. The previous temporal-multimode memories are based on rephrasing mechanisms in inhomogeneous-broadened media. Here, by applying a train of multi-direction write pulses into a homogeneous-broadened atomic ensemble to induce Duan-Lukin-Cirac-Zoller-like Raman processes, we prepare up to 19 pairs of modes, …
Multiplexed quantum memories capable of storing and processing entangled photons are essential for the development of quantum networks. In this context, we demonstrate the simultaneous storage and retrieval of two entangled photons inside a solid-state quantum memory and measure a temporal multimode capacity of ten modes. This is achieved by producing two polarization entangled pairs from parametric down conversion and mapping one photon of each pair onto a rare-earth-ion doped (REID) crystal using the atomic frequency comb (AFC) protocol. We develop a concept of indirect entanglement witnesse…
Up to now, transverse quantum effects (usually labelled as "quantum imaging" effects) which are generated by nonlinear devices inserted in resonant optical cavities have been calculated using the "thin crystal approximation", i.e. taking into account the effect of diffraction only inside the empty part of the cavity, and neglecting its effect in the nonlinear propagation inside the nonlinear crystal. We introduce in the present paper a theoretical method which is not restricted by this approximation. It allows us in particular to treat configurations closer to the actual experimental ones, whe…
We study the non-Markovian quantum dynamics of an emitter inside an open multimode cavity, focusing on the case where the emitter is resonant with high-frequency cavity modes. Based on a Green's function technique suited for open photonic structures, we study the crossovers between three distinct regimes as the coupling strength is gradually increased: (i) overdamped decay with a time scale given by the Purcell modified decay rate, (ii) underdamped oscillations with a time scale given by the effective vacuum Rabi frequency, and (iii) pulsed revivals. The final multimode strong coupling regime …
Two-mode squeezed states are scalable and robust entanglement resources for continuous-variable and hybrid quantum information protocols at a distance. We consider the effect of a linear cross talk in the multimode distribution of two-mode squeezed states propagating through parallel similar channels. First, to reduce degradation of the distributed Gaussian entanglement, we show that the initial two-mode squeezing entering the channel should be optimized already in the presence of a small cross talk. Second, we suggest simultaneous optimization of relative phase between the modes and their lin…
The large number of spatial modes supported by standard multimode fibers is a promising platform for boosting the channel capacity of quantum and classical communications by orders of magnitude. However, the practical use of long multimode fibers is severely hampered by modal crosstalk and polarization mixing. To overcome these challenges, we develop and experimentally demonstrate a vectorial time reversal technique, which is accomplished by digitally pre-shaping the wavefront and polarization of the forward-propagating signal beam to be the phase conjugate of an auxiliary, backward-propagatin…
We have numerically obtained theoretical results for the collapse and the revival of the quantum Rabi oscillations for low average number of coherent photons injected on a two-level system in a lossy resonant cavity. We have adopted the multimode Jaynes-Cummings model for the same and especially treated the ``Ohmic" loss to the walls of the cavity, the leakage from the cavity, and the loss due to the spontaneous emission through the open surface of the cavity. We have compared our results with the experimental data obtained by Brune et al [Phys. Rev. Lett. 76, 1800 (1996)] in this regard.
The correlated non-equilibrium dynamics of few-boson systems in one-dimensional finite lattices is investigated. Starting from weak interactions we perform a sudden interaction quench and employ the numerically exact Multi-Layer Multi-Configuration time-dependent Hartree method for bosons to obtain the resulting quantum dynamics. Focusing on the low-lying modes of the finite lattice we observe the emergence of density-wave tunneling, breathing and cradle-like processes. In particular, the tunneling induced by the quench leads to a "global" density-wave oscillation. The resulting breathing and …
Quantum repeaters based on heralded entanglement require quantum nodes that are able to generate multimode quantum correlations between memories and telecommunication photons. The communication rate scales linearly with the number of modes, yet highly multimode quantum storage remains challenging. In this work, we demonstrate an atomic frequency comb quantum memory with a time-domain mode capacity of 1250 modes and a bandwidth of 100 MHz, to our knowledge the largest number of modes stored in the quantum regime. The memory is based on a $Y_{2}SiO_{5}$ crystal doped with $^{171}Yb^{3+}$ ions, w…
Optical fibers confine and guide light almost unattenuated and thus convey light forces to polarizable nano-particles over very long distances. Radiation pressure forces arise from scattering of guided photons into free space while gradient forces are based on coherent scattering between different fiber modes or propagation directions. Interestingly, even scattering between co-propagating modes induces longitudinal forces as the transverse confinement of the light modes creates mode dependent longitudinal wave-vectors and photon momenta. We generalize a proven scattering matrix based approach …
The light-matter quantum interface that can create quantum-correlations or entanglement between a photon and one atomic collective excitation is a fundamental building block for a quantum repeater. The intrinsic limit is that the probability of preparing such non-classical atom-photon correlations has to be kept low in order to suppress multi-excitation. To enhance this probability without introducing multi-excitation errors, a promising scheme is to apply multimode memories into the interface. Significant progresses have been made in temporal, spectral, and spatial multiplexing memories, but …
We present a full quantum analysis of resonant forward four-wave mixing based on electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT). In particular, we study the regime of efficient nonlinear conversion with low-intensity fields that has been predicted from a semiclassical analysis. We derive an effective nonlinear interaction Hamiltonian in the adiabatic limit. In contrast to conventional nonlinear optics this Hamiltonian does not have a power expansion in the fields and the conversion length increases with the input power. We analyze the stationary wave-mixing process in the forward scattering co…
A system of traps is considered, each containing a large number of Bose-condensed atoms. This ensemble of traps is subject to the action of an external modulating field generating nonequilibrium nonground-state condensates. When the frequency of the modulating field is in resonance with the transition frequency between two different topological coherent modes, each trap becomes an analog of a finite-level resonant atom. Similarly to the case of atoms in an electromagnetic resonant field, one can create entanglement between atomic traps subject to a common resonant modulating field generating h…
Experimental and numerical investigation of single-beam and pump-probe interaction with a resonantly absorbing dense extended medium under strong and weak field-matter coupling is presented. Significant probe beam amplification and conical emission were observed. Under relatively weak pumping and high medium density, when the condition of strong coupling between field and resonant matter is fulfilled, the probe amplification spectrum has a form of spectral doublet. Stronger pumping leads to the appearance of a single peak of the probe beam amplification at the transition frequency. The greater…
We present a detailed theoretical analysis of a weakly driven multimode optomechanical system, in which two optical modes are strongly and near-resonantly coupled to a single mechanical mode via a three-wave mixing interaction. We calculate one- and two-time intensity correlations of the two optical fields and compare them to analogous correlations in atom-cavity systems. Nonclassical photon correlations arise when the optomechanical coupling $g$ exceeds the cavity decay rate $κ$, and we discuss signatures of one- and two-photon resonances as well as quantum interference. We also find a long-l…
Open quantum Dicke models are paradigmatic systems for the investigation of light-matter interaction in out-of-equilibrium quantum settings. Albeit being structurally simple, these models can show intriguing physics. However, obtaining exact results on their dynamical behavior is challenging, since it requires the solution of a many-body quantum system, with several interacting continuous and discrete degrees of freedom. Here, we make a step forward in this direction by proving the validity of the mean-field semi-classical equations for open multimode Dicke models, which, to the best of our kn…
Means to coherently control single x-ray photons in resonant scattering of light off nuclei by electric or magnetic fields are investigated theoretically. In order to derive the time response in nuclear forward scattering, we adapt the Maxwell-Bloch equations known from quantum optics to describe the resonant light pulse propagation through a nuclear medium. Two types of time-dependent perturbations of nuclear forward scattering are considered for coherent control of the resonantly scattered x-ray quanta. First, the simultaneous coherent propagation of two pulses through the nuclear sample is …
We study the effects of high optical depth and density on the performance of a light-atom quantum interface. An in-situ imaging method, a dual-port polarization contrast technique, is presented. This technique is able to compensate for image distortions due to refraction. We propose our imaging method as a tool to characterize atomic ensembles for high capacity spatial multimode quantum memories. Ultracold dense inhomogeneous Rubidium samples are imaged and we find a resonant optical depth as high as 680 on the D1 line. The measurements are compared with light-atom interaction models based on …
Loss Mechanisms in High-coherence Multimode Mechanical Resonators Coupled to Superconducting Circuits
ETH Zurich（苏黎世联邦理工学院）；University of Innsbruck（因斯布鲁克大学）；Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information, Austrian Academy of Sciences（奥地利科学院量子光学与量子信息研究所）；University of Sao Paulo（圣保罗大学）
Abstract We investigate the spectral shift in collective forward scattering for a cold dense atomic cloud. The shift, sometimes called collective Lamb shift, results from resonant dipole-dipole interaction mediated by real and virtual photon exchange, forming many-body states displaying various super- and subradiant spectral behavior. The scattering spectrum reflects the overall radiative behavior from these states. However, it also averages out the radiative details associated with a single collective state, causing ambiguity in explaining the origin of the spectral shift and raising controve…
In the annihilation of a positron with a bound atomic electron, the virtual gamma photon created may excite the atomic nucleus. We put forward this effect as a spectroscopic tool for an energy-selective excitation of nuclear transitions. This scheme can efficiently populate nuclear levels of arbitrary multipolarities in the MeV regime, including monopole transitions and giant resonances. In certain cases, it may have a higher cross sections than the conventionally used Coulomb excitation.
Typically, time-dependent thermodynamic protocols need to run asymptotically slowly in order to avoid dissipative losses. By adapting ideas from counter-diabatic driving and Floquet engineering to open systems, we develop fast-forward protocols for swiftly thermalizing a system oscillator locally coupled to an optical phonon bath. These protocols control the system frequency and the system-bath coupling to induce a resonant state exchange between the system and the bath. We apply the fast-forward protocols to realize a fast approximate Otto engine operating at high power near the Carnot Effici…
Off-resonant optical imaging is the most popular method for continuous monitoring of a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC). However, the disturbance caused by scattered photons places a serious limitation on the lifetime of such continuously-monitored condensates. In this paper, we demonstrate that a new choice of feedback control can overcome the heating effects of the measurement backaction. In particular, we show that the measurement backaction caused by off-resonant optical imaging is a multimode quantum-field effect, as the entire heating process is not seen in single-particle or mean-field mo…
The mechanisms responsible for ultraviolet to mid-infrared light generation in sodium vapours two-photon excited with continuous-wave sub-100 mW power resonant laser radiation are elucidated from orbital angular momentum transfer of the applied light to the generated fields. The measured 9.5 MHz-wide spectral linewidth of the light at 819.7 nm generated by four-wave mixing, sets an upper limit to the linewidth of two fields resulting from amplified spontaneous emission at 2338 nm and 9093 nm on population inverted transitions. Understanding details of this new-field generation is central to ap…
The possibility to control the coherent decay of resonant excitations in nuclear forward scattering is investigated. By changing abruptly the direction of the nuclear hyperfine magnetic field, the coherent scattering of photons can be manipulated and even completely suppressed via quantum interference effects between the nuclear transition currents. The efficiency of the coherent decay suppression and the dependence of the scattered light polarization on the specific switching parameters is analyzed in detail. Using a sophisticated magnetic switching sequence involving four rotations of the hy…
We develop and analyze a theoretical model which yields the shifts and widths of Feshbach resonances in an atomic waveguide. It is based on a multichannel approach for confinement-induced resonances (CIRs) and atomic transitions in the waveguides in the multimode regime. We replace in this scheme the single-channel scalar interatomic interaction by the four-channel tensorial potential modeling resonances of broad, narrow and overlapping character according to the two-channel parametrization of A.D.Lange et al. As an input the experimentally known parameters of Feshbach resonances in the absenc…
We study the atom-light interaction in the fully quantum regime, with focus on off-resonant light scattering into a cavity from ultracold atoms trapped in an optical lattice. The detection of photons allows the quantum nondemolition (QND) measurement of quantum correlations of the atomic ensemble, distinguishing between different quantum states. We analyse the entanglement between light and matter and show how it can be exploited for realising multimode macroscopic quantum superpositions such as Schrödinger cat states, for both bosons and fermions. We provide examples utilising different measu…
