We have developed the full theory of a synchronously pumped type I optical parametric oscillator (SPOPO). We derive expressions for the oscillation threshold and the characteristics of the generated mode-locked signal beam. We calculate the output quantum fluctuations of the device, and find that, in the degenerate case (coincident signal and idler set of frequencies), perfect squeezing is obtained when one approaches threshold from below for a well defined "super-mode', or frequency comb, consisting of a coherent linear superposition of signal modes of different frequencies which are resonant in the cavity.
A 2.8-dB polarization squeezing of the Stokes operator S2 for the rubidium D1 line (795 nm) is achieved, with the lowest squeezing band at an audio frequency of 2.6 kHz. Two methods are applied for improving the squeezing towards low frequencies: an orthogonal-polarized locking beam that precludes residual unwanted interference and quantum noise locking method that stabilizes the relative phase between the squeezed vacuum and the local oscillator. The squeezing level is limited by absorption-induced losses at short wavelengths, here is 397.5 nm. The generated polarization squeezed light can be…
It was shown by a study of the incoherent part of the low-frequency resonance fluorescence spectrum of the polar quantum emitter driven by semiclassical external laser field and damped by non-squeezed vacuum reservoir that the emitted fluorescence field is squeezed to some degree nevertheless. As was also found, a higher degree of squeezing could, in principle, be achieved by damping the emitter by squeezed vacuum reservoir.
We calculate the utility of high-frequency squeezed-state enhanced two-frequency interferometry for low-frequency phase measurement. To use the high-frequency sidebands of the squeezed light, a two-frequency intense laser is used in the interferometry instead of a single-frequency laser as usual. We find that the readout signal can be contaminated by the high-frequency phase vibration, but this is easy to check and avoid. A proof-of-principle experiment is in the reach of modern quantum optics technology.
Based on the time-convolutionless master-equation approach, we investigate squeezing of light field in a dissipative Jaynes-Cummings model. The results show that squeezing light can be generated when the atom transits to a ground state from an excited state, and then a collapse-revival phenomenon will occur in the squeezing of light field due to atom-cavity coupling. Enhancing the atom-cavity coupling can increase the frequency of the collapse-revival of squeezing. The stronger the non-Markovian effect is, the more obvious the collapse-revival phenomenon is. The oscillatory frequency of the sq…
We experimentally study a homodyne detection technique for the characterization of a quadrature squeezed field where the correlated bands, here created by four-wave mixing in a hot atomic vapor, are separated by a large frequency gap of more than 6 GHz. The technique uses a two-frequency local oscillator to detect the fluctuations of the correlated bands at a frequency accessible to the detection electronics. Working at low detection frequency, the method allows for the determination of both the amplitude and the phase of the squeezing spectrum. In particular, we show that the quadrature squee…
We observed squeezed vacuum light at 795 nm in 87Rb vapor via resonant polarization self-rotation, and report noise sidebands suppression of ~1 dB below shot noise level spanning from acoustic (30 kHz) to MHz frequencies. This is the first demonstration of sub-MHz quadrature vacuum squeezing in atomic systems. The spectral range of observed squeezing matches well typical bandwidths of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) resonances, making this simple technique for generation of optical fields with non-classical statistics at atomic transitions wavelengths attractive for EIT-based qu…
We consider a star network consisting of N oscillators coupled to a central one which in turn is coupled to an infinite set of oscillators (reservoir), which makes it leaking. Two of the N + 1 normal modes are dissipating, while the remaining N - 1 lie in a frequency range which is more and more squeezed as the coupling strengths increase, which realizes synchronization of the single parts of the system.
We investigate theoretically the quantum fluctuations of the fundamental field in the output of a nondegenerate second harmonic generation process occuring inside a laser cavity. Due to the nondegenerate character of the nonlinear medium, a field orthogonal to the laser field is for some operating conditions indepedent of the fluctuations produced by the laser medium. We show that this fact may lead to perfect squeezing for a certain polarization mode of the fundamental field. The experimental feasibility of the system is also discussed.
We demonstrate the generation of broad-band continuous-wave optical squeezing down to 200Hz using a below threshold optical parametric oscillator (OPO). The squeezed state phase was controlled using a noise locking technique. We show that low frequency noise sources, such as seed noise, pump noise and detuning fluctuations, present in optical parametric amplifiers have negligible effect on squeezing produced by a below threshold OPO. This low frequency squeezing is ideal for improving the sensitivity of audio frequency measuring devices such as gravitational wave detectors.
The generated magnitude of quadrature squeezing in a cavity-coupled ensemble, which is continuously driven using a coherent off-axis field, is theoretically explored. Using a truncated set of equations-of-motion derived from a Dicke Hamiltonian, steady-state quadrature squeezing of the cavity field is numerically calculated to approach a limit of -3 dB, while frequency-modulated quadrature squeezing approaches a limit of -14 dB, in the absence of pure-dephasing, and as a function of the ensemble's size and detuning. The impact of pure-dephasing on steady-state quadrature squeezing is shown to …
We study theoretically a driven hybrid optomechanical system with a membrane-in-the-middle configuration containing two identical elongated cigar-shaped Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) in each side of the membrane. In the weakly interacting regime, the BECs can be considered as single-mode oscillators in the Bogoliubov approximation which are coupled to the optical field through the radiation pressure interaction so that they behave as two quasi-membranes. We show that the degree of squeezing of each BEC and its entanglement with the moving membrane can be controlled by the \textit{s}-wave sc…
We outline a new class of continuous-variable graph states that can be useful to describe entangle- ment, and also multimode squeezing, in an optical frequency comb. We show that a particular case of such states coincides with the squeezing of the carrier-envelope phase, or of the total intensity, of a mode-locked laser. We then discuss the experimental issues related to measuring the quantum noise of the carrier-envelope phase of a frequency comb and show that this can be carried out by use of quantum heterodyne multiplexing, a technique that may be useful to measure multipartite entanglement…
We study the effect of photothermal fluctuations on squeezed states of light through the photo-refractive effect and thermal expansion in a degenerate optical parametric amplifier (OPA). We also discuss the effect of the photothermal noise in various cases and how to minimize its undesirable consequences. We find that the photothermal noise in the OPA introduces a significant amount of noise on phase squeezed beams, making them less than ideal for low frequency applications such as gravitational wave (GW) interferometers, whereas amplitude squeezed beams are relatively immune to the phototherm…
Beating noise in frequency estimation with squeezing and memory in continuous-variable systems
Harish-Chandra Research Institute（哈里什-昌德拉研究所）；Homi Bhabha National Institute（霍米·巴巴国立研究所）；Università di Milano（米兰大学）；INFN, Sezione di Milano（意大利国家核物理研究所米兰分部）
We report the demonstration of a magnetometer with noise-floor reduction below the shot-noise level. This magnetometer, based on a nonlinear magneto-optical rotation effect, is enhanced by the injection of a squeezed vacuum state into its input. The noise spectrum shows squeezed noise reduction of about 2 dB spanning from close to 100 Hz to several megahertz. We also report on the observation of two different regimes of operation of such a magnetometer: one in which the detection noise is limited by the quantum noise of the light probe only, and one in which we see additional noise originating…
We present a protocol to generate a large degree of squeezing of a boson (light) field mode strongly coupled to a two-level system in the dispersive regime. Our protocol exploits the strong dispersive coupling to introduce a time dependent frequency change of the boson field. With an appropriately timed sequence of sudden frequency changes, the quantum noise fluctuations in one quadrature of the field can be reduced well below the standard quantum limit, with a correspondingly increased uncertainty in the orthogonal quadrature. Even in the presence of realistic noise and imperfections, the pro…
Using a nondegenerate four-wave mixing (FWM) process based on a double-Λ scheme in hot cesium vapor, we demonstrate a compact diode-laser-pumped quantum light source for the generation of quantum correlated twin beams with a maximum squeezing of 6.5 dB. The squeezing is observed at a Fourier frequency in the audio band down to 0.7 kHz which, to the best of our knowledge, is the first observation of sub-kilohertz intensity-difference squeezing in an atomic system so far. A phase-matching condition is also investigated in our system, which confirms the spatial-multi-mode characteristics of the F…
We propose a method to generate quadrature squeezed states of a moving mirror in a Fabry-Perot cavity. This is achieved by exploiting the fact that when the cavity is driven by an external field with a large detuning, the moving mirror behaves as a parametric oscillator. We show that parametric resonance can be reached approximately by modulating the driving field amplitude at a frequency matching the frequency shift of the mirror. The parametric resonance leads to an efficient generation of squeezing, which is limited by the thermal noise of the environment.
We have developed a quantum memory technique that is completely compatible with current quantum information processing for continuous variables of light, where arbitrary frequency sidebands of a squeezed vacuum can be stored and retrieved using bichromatic electromagnetic induced transparency. 2MHz sidebands of squeezed vacuum pulses with temporal widths of 470ns and a squeezing level of -1.78 +- 0.02dB were stored for 3us in the laser-cooled 87Rb atoms. -0.44 +- 0.02dB of squeezing was retrieved, which is the highest squeezing ever reported for a retrieved pulse.
We consider the thermodynamic properties of the squeezed vacuum state of a frequency--modulated quantum harmonic oscillator. We analytically relate the squeezing parameter to the irreversible work and the degree of nonadiabaticity of the frequency transformation. We furthermore determine the optimal modulation that leads to maximal squeezing, and discuss its implementation as well as the detection of squeezing in single cold ion traps.
We obtain explicit analytical expressions for the quadrature variances and the photon distribution functions of the electromagnetic field modes excited from vacuum or thermal states due to the non-stationary Casimir effect in an ideal one-dimensional Fabry--Perot cavity with vibrating walls, provided the frequency of vibrations is close to a multiple frequency of the fundamental unperturbed electromagnetic mode.
In this article we explore the quantum properties of a degenerate optical parametric oscillator when it is tuned to the first family of transverse modes at the down converted frequency.
Quantum vacuum fluctuations impose strict limits on precision displacement measurements, those of interferometric gravitational-wave detectors among them. Introducing squeezed states into an interferometer's readout port can improve the sensitivity of the instrument, leading to richer astrophysical observations. However, optomechanical interactions dictate that the vacuum's squeezed quadrature must rotate by 90 degrees around 50Hz. Here we use a 2-m-long, high-finesse optical resonator to produce frequency-dependent rotation around 1.2kHz. This demonstration of audio-band frequency-dependent s…
We report on the demonstration of broadband squeezed laser beams that show a frequency dependent orientation of the squeezing ellipse. Carrier frequency as well as quadrature angle were stably locked to a reference laser beam at 1064nm. This frequency dependent squeezing was characterized in terms of noise power spectra and contour plots of Wigner functions. The later were measured by quantum state tomography. Our tomograph allowed a stable lock to a local oscillator beam for arbitrary quadrature angles with one degree precision. Frequency dependent orientations of the squeezing ellipse are ne…
Ponderomotive squeezing of the output light of an optical cavity has been recently observed in the MHz range in two different cavity optomechanical devices. Quadrature squeezing becomes particularly useful at lower spectral frequencies, for example in gravitational wave interferometers, despite being more sensitive to excess phase and frequency noise. Here we show a phase/frequency noise cancellation mechanism due to destructive interference which can facilitate the production of ponderomotive squeezing in the kHz range and we demonstrate it experimentally in an optomechanical system formed by…
We propose and demonstrate a coherent control scheme for stable phase locking of squeezed vacuum fields. We focus on sideband fields at frequencies from 10Hz to 10kHz which is a frequency regime of particular interest in gravitational wave detection and for which conventional control schemes have failed so far. A vacuum field with broadband squeezing covering this entire band was produced using optical parametric oscillation and characterized with balanced homodyne detection. The system was stably controlled over long periods utilizing two coherent but frequency shifted control fields. In orde…
We theoretically investigate the mechanism of two-mode quadrature squeezing in regime of four-wave mixing in a Λ-scheme of three-level atoms embedded in a thermal reservoir. We demonstrate that the process of nonlinear transfer of noise from the low frequency of ground state splitting to the optical frequency drastically modifies the condition of effective two-mode squeezing. The damage factor is significant if number of thermal photons at the low frequency is high and the role of inelastic processes in ground state coherence decay is not negligible. We found the optimal conditions for squeezi…
We propose and demonstrate a system that produces squeezed vacuum using a pair of optical parametric amplifiers. This scheme allows the production of phase sidebands on the squeezed vacuum which facilitate phase locking in downstream applications. We observe strong, stably locked, continuous wave vacuum squeezing at frequencies as low as 220 kHz. We propose an alternative resonator configuration to overcome low frequency squeezing degradation caused by the optical parametric amplifiers.
The Standard Quantum Limit (SQL) in interferometric displacement measurement imposes a restriction on the precision of the measurement due to its quantum back-action noise. This limit can be surpassed over a broad frequency band by injecting squeezed vacuum states with a frequency dependent (FD) quadrature angle into the measurement system. Here, we demonstrate the generation of FD squeezed vacuum states by utilizing Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) entangled states. The frequency dependence of the squeezed state can be tuned by conditionally filtering the measurement once the two entangled field…
We analyze the creation of spin squeezed atomic ensembles by simultaneous dispersive interactions with several optical frequencies. A judicious choice of optical parameters enables optimization of an interferometric detection scheme that suppresses inhomogeneous light shifts and keeps the interferometer operating in a balanced mode that minimizes technical noise. We show that when the atoms interact with two-frequency light tuned to cycling transitions the degree of spin squeezing $ξ^2$ scales as $ξ^2\sim 1/d$ where $d$ is the resonant optical depth of the ensemble. In real alkali atoms there …
Quantum sensing and quantum information processing use quantum advantages such as squeezed states that encode a quantity of interest with higher precision and generate quantum correlations to outperform classical methods. In harmonic oscillators, the rate of generating squeezing is set by a quantum speed limit. Therefore, the degree to which a quantum advantage can be used in practice is limited by the time needed to create the state relative to the rate of unavoidable decoherence. Alternatively, a sudden change of harmonic oscillator's frequency projects a ground state into a squeezed state w…
We report on the experimental demonstration of strong quadrature EPR entanglement and squeezing at very low noise sideband frequencies produced by a single type-II, self-phase-locked, frequency degenerate optical parametric oscillator below threshold. The generated two-mode squeezed vacuum state is preserved for noise frequencies as low as 50 kHz. Designing simple setups able to generate non-classical states of light in the kHz regime is a key challenge for high sensitivity detection of ultra-weak physical effects such as gravitational wave or small beam displacement.
We investigate the squeezing for a movable mirror in the dissipative optomechanics in which the oscillating mirror modulates both the resonance frequency and the linewidth of the cavity mode. Via feeding a much weaker broadband squeezed vacuum light accompanying the coherent driving laser field into the cavity, the master equation for the cavity-mirror system is derived by following the general reservoir theory based on the density operator in which the reservoir variables are adiabatically eliminated by using the reduced density operator for the system in the interaction picture. When the mir…
We systematically investigate the bistable behavior and squeezing property of the librational mode of a levitated nonspherical nanoparticle trapped by laser beams. By expanding the librational potential to the forth order of the librational angle $θ$, we find that the nonlinear coefficient of this mode is dependent only on the size and material of nanoparticle, but independent of trapping potential shape. The bistability and hysteresis are displayed when the driving frequency is red-detuned to the librational mode. In the blue-detuned region, we have studied squeezing of the variance of librat…
Generation of quantum light source is a promising technique to overcome the standard quantum limit in precision measurement. Here, we demonstrate an experimental generation of quadrature squeezing resonating on the cesium D2 line down to 10 Hz for the first time. The maximum squeezing in audio frequency band is 5.57 dB. Moreover, we have presented a single-photon modulation locking to control the squeezing angle, while effectively suppressing the influence of laser noise on low-frequency squeezing. The whole system operates steadily for hours. The generated low-frequency quantum light source c…
The generation and storage of spin squeezing is an attracting topic in quantum metrology and the foundations of quantum mechanics. The major models to realize the spin squeezing are the one- and two-axis twisting models. Here, we consider a collective spin system coupled to a bosonic field, and show that proper constant-value controls in this model can simulate the dynamical behaviors of these two models. More interestingly, a better performance of squeezing can be obtained when the control is time-varying, which is generated via a reinforcement learning algorithm. However, this advantage beco…
In this paper, we investigate the single mode quantum properties of the codirectional Kerr nonlinear coupler when the frequency mismatch is involved and a condition for an exact solution of equations of motion is fulfilled. Particularly, we investigate quadrature and principal squeezing, Wigner function, quadrature distribution, phase distribution and phase variance. We show that the quadrature squeezing and the phase variance can exhibit collapse-revival and collapse-revival-subrevival phenomena, respectively, based on the values of the detuning parameter. Furthermore, we analytically demonst…
Optical squeezing mediated by levitated oscillators at their quantum ground state
CNR-INO（意大利国家研究委员会红外光学研究所）；Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Univ. Di Firenze（佛罗伦萨大学物理与天文系）；INFN, Sezione di Firenze（意大利国家核物理研究院佛罗伦萨分部）；European Laboratory for Non-Linear Spectroscopy (LENS)（欧洲非线性光谱学实验室）
We systematically study the influence of amplitude modulation on the steady-state bosonic squeezing and entanglement in a dissipative three-mode optomechanical system, where a vibrational mode of the membrane is coupled to the left and right cavity modes via the radiation pressure. Numerical simulation results show that the steady-state bosonic squeezing and entanglement can be significantly enhanced by periodically modulated external laser driving either or both ends of the cavity. Remarkably, the fact that as long as one periodically modulated external laser driving either end of the cavitie…
We analyse the possibility to create two-mode spin squeezed states of two separate spin ensembles by inverting the spins in one ensemble and allowing spin exchange between the ensembles via a near resonant cavity field. We investigate the dynamics of the system using a combination of numerical and analytic calculations, and we obtain squeezing for a wide range of parameters. We also investigate the transfer of the squeezing properties to the cavity field and to an output mode from the cavity. Finally, we investigate how the squeezing is affected by effects of inhomogeneities which would be pre…
