Dynamic control of a weak quantum probe light pulse for the generation and quantum manipulations of a stationary multi-color (MC-) light field in a resonant coherent atomic medium using electromagnetically induced transparency is proposed. The manipulations have been analyzed based on the analytical solution of the adiabatic limit in the evolution of MC-light fields resulting from interaction of the slow probe light with the new fields generated in the nondegenerate multi-wave mixing scheme. We have found a critical stopping condition for the MC-light fields where the group velocity of light should reduce down to zero. Semiclassical dynamics and behavior of specific quantum correlations of the MC-light fields have been studied in detail for particular initial quantum states of the probe pulse. The stationary MC-field dynamics are treated in terms of dark MC-polariton states constructed for the studied multi-wave mixing processes. We have found the conditions for optimal manipulation of the MC-light while preserving the delicate quantum correlations of the initial probe light pulse. The quantum manipulations leading to the frequency and direction switching of the initial probe light pulse as well as to the quantum swapping of probe light into the new multi-frequency light fields have been proposed. The possibilities of the interaction time lengthening and enhancement of the electric field amplitudes of the stationary MC-light are also discussed for enhancement of the interactions with weak quantum fields in the spatially limited media.
We present a Maxwell-Bloch description of the dynamics of a light pulse propagating through a spatially inhomogeneous system consisting of alternating layers of EIT media and vacuum. We study the effect of a dynamical modulation of the EIT control field on the shape of the wave packet: interesting effects due to the presence of interfaces with group velocity mismatch are found. An effective description based on a continuity equation is developed. Modulation schemes that can be realized in ultracold atomic samples with standard experimental techniques are proposed and discussed.
We theoretically report that, utilizing electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT), the transverse spatial properties of weak probe fields can be fast modulated by using optical patterns (e.g. images) with desired intensity distributions in the coupling fields. Consequently, EIT systems can function as high-speed optically addressed spatial light modulators. To exemplify our proposal, we indicate the generation and manipulation of Laguerre-Gaussian beams based on either phase or amplitude modulation in hot vapor EIT systems.
We propose a feasible scheme of quantum state storage and manipulation via electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) in flexibly $united$ multi-ensembles of three-level atoms. For different atomic array configurations, one can properly steer the signal and the control lights to generate different forms of atomic entanglement within the framework of linear optics. These results shed new light on designing the versatile quantum memory devices by using, e.g., an atomic grid.
A dynamic quantum control of three-color lights in an optically dense medium is presented. We discuss how effectively to stop traveling three-color light pulses in the medium by using three control laser fields at near resonant transitions satisfying electromagnetically induced transparency. This opens a door to the quantum coherent control of multiple traveling light pulses for quantum memory and quantum switching, which are essential components in multi-party quantum optical communications.
Coherent manipulation of single-photon wave packets is essentially important for optical quantum communication and quantum information processing. In this paper, we realize controllable splitting and modulation of single-photon-level pulses by using a tripod-type atomic medium. The adoption of two control beams enable us to store one signal pulse into superposition of two distinct atomic collective excitations. By controlling the time delay between the two control pulses, we observe splitting of a stored wave packet into two temporally-distinct modes. By controlling the frequency detuning of t…
We study optical bistable behavior of a Rydberg electromagnetically-induced transparency (EIT) atomic medium in a unidirectional optical ring-cavity. Due to strong van del Waal (vdW) interactions between the atoms, both optical nonlinear dispersion and nonlinear absorption coefficients are enhanced substantially. Under the condition of two-photon on resonance, we show that probe one-photon detuning can change the phase of the third order nonlinearity coefficient, which tunes the character of the optical bistability within different ratios of dispersive and absorptive types. This enables the si…
We propose the dynamic control of two-color stationary light in a double-lambda four-level system using electromagnetically induced transparency. We demonstrate the complete localization of two-color quantum fields inside a medium using coherence moving gratings resulting from slow-light based atom-field interactions in backward nondegenerate four-wave mixing processes. The quantum coherent control of the two-color stationary light opens a door to deterministic quantum information science which needs a quantum nondemolition measurement, where the two-color stationary light scheme would greatly…
In this chapter, we review recent advances in generating narrowband biphotons with long coherence time using spontaneous parametric interaction in monolithic cavity with cluster effect as well as in cold atoms with electromagnetically induced transparency. Engineering and manipulating the temporal waveforms of these long biphotons provide efficient means for controlling light-matter quantum interaction at the single-photon level. We also review recent experiments using temporally long biphotons and single photons.
We study electromagnetically induced interference at superconducting qubits. The interaction between qubits and electromagnetic fields can provide additional coupling channels to qubit states, leading to quantum interference in a microwave driven qubit. In particular, the interwell relaxation or Rabi oscillation, resulting respectively from the multi- or single-mode interaction, can induce effective crossovers. The environment is modeled by a multi-mode thermal bath, generating the interwell relaxation. Relaxation induced interference, independent of the tunnel coupling, provides deeper unders…
We provide an exact analytic description of decelerating, stopping and re-accelerating optical solitons in atomic media. By virtue of this solution we describe in detail how spatially localized optical memory bits can be written down, read and moved along the atomic medium in a prescribed manner. Dynamical control over the solitons is realized via a background laser field whose intensity controls the velocity of the slow light in a similar way as in the linear theory of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT). We solve the nonlinear model when the controlling field and the solitons inte…
We experimentally demonstrate the manipulation of optical diffraction, utilizing the atomic thermal motion in a hot vapor medium of electromagnetically-induced transparency (EIT). By properly tuning the EIT parameters, the refraction induced by the atomic motion may completely counterbalance the paraxial free-space diffraction and by that eliminates the effect of diffraction for arbitrary images. By further manipulation, the diffraction can be doubled, biased asymmetrically to induced deflection, or even reversed. The latter allows an experimental implementation of an analogy to a negative-ind…
We consider an optomechanical cavity made by two moving mirrors which contains a Kerr-down conversion nonlinear crystal. We show that the coherent oscillations of the two mechanical oscil- lators can lead to splitting in the electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) resonance, and appearance of an absorption peak within the transparency window. In this configuration the coher- ent induced splitting of EIT is similar to driving a hyperfine transition in an atomic Lambda-type three-level system by a radio-frequency or microwave field. Also, we show that the presence of non- linearity provid…
We present a study of manipulating the multiphoton blockade phenomenon in a single mode cavity with two ladder-type three-level atoms. Combining the cavity QED with electromagnetically induced transparency technique, we show that it is possible to actively manipulate the photon blockade when two atoms are in phase radiations. As a result, the two-photon blockade can be changed to three-photon blockade by changing the control field Rabi frequency. In the case of out-phase radiations, we show that the three-photon blockade can be improved with enhanced mean photon number. In addition, we show th…
People have been paying attention to the role of atoms' complex internal level structures in the research of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) for a long time, where the various degenerate Zeeman levels usually generate complex linkage patterns for the atomic transitions. It turns out, with special choices of the atomic states and the atomic transitions' linkage structure, clear signatures of quantum interference induced by the probe and coupling light's polarizations can emerge from a typical EIT phenomena. We propose to study a four state system with double-V linkage pattern for…
Recently, the generation and detection of structured light field have drawn a great deal of attention, due to their importance in high-capacity optical data storage and quantum technology. In this letter, we explore the azimuthal modulation of optical transparency in a four-level double-V type quantum system near a plasmonic nanostructure. A Laguerre-Gaussian beam and the interaction of the system with free-space vacuum modes have been employed to create the phase-dependent absorption of a non-vortex probe field. First, we demonstrate how to identify the azimuthal index associated with the con…
Long range quantum communication and quantum information processing require the development of light-matter interfaces for distributed quantum networks. Even though photons are ideal candidates for network links to transfer quantum information, the system of choice for the realization of quantum nodes has not been identified yet. Ideally, one strives for a hybrid network architecture, which will consist of different quantum systems, combining the strengths of each system. However, interfacing different quantum systems via photonic channels remains a major challenge because a detailed understan…
We demonstrate the storage and manipulation of narrowband heralded single photons from a cavity-enhanced spontaneous parametric downconversion (SPDC) source in the atomic quantum memory based on electromagnetically induced transparency. We show that nonclassical correlations are preserved between the heralding and the retrieved photons after storage process. By varying the intensity of the coupling field during retrieval process, we further demonstrate that the waveform or bandwidth of the single photons can be manipulated and the nonclassical correlation between the photon pairs can be even e…
The atom-light interaction in a three-level system has shown significant physical phenomena, such as electromagnetically induced transparency and Autler{Townes splitting (ATS), for broad applications in classical and quantum information techniques. Here, we optimally demonstrated the ATS with a quantum state manipulation method. The ATS in the dephasing-dominated diamond NV center system was successfully recovered by coherent microwave control, which cannot be observed with traditional method. The dynamical process of ATS was investigated in detail, revealing a nontrivial quantum interference …
The coherent control of light with matter, enabling storage and manipulation of optical signals, was revolutionized by electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT), which is a quantum interference effect. For strong electromagnetic fields that induce a wide transparency band, this quantum interference vanishes, giving rise to the well-known phenomenon of Autler-Townes splitting (ATS). To date, it is an open question whether ATS can be directly leveraged for coherent control as more than just a case of "bad" EIT. Here, we establish a protocol showing that dynamically controlled absorption of …
We investigate the interaction of weak light fields with two-dimensional lattices of atoms, in which two-photon coupling establishes conditions of electromagnetically induced transparency and excites high lying atomic Rydberg states. This system features different interactions that act on disparate length scales, from zero-range defect scattering of atomic excitations and finite-range dipole exchange interactions to long-range Rydberg-state interactions that span the entire array. Analyzing their interplay, we identify conditions that yield a nonlinear quantum mirror which coherently splits in…
Ground state cooling and coherent manipulation of ions in an rf-(Paul) trap is the prerequisite for quantum information experiments with trapped ions. With resolved sideband cooling on the optical S1/2 - D5/2 quadrupole transition we have cooled one and two 40Ca+ ions to the ground state of vibration with up to 99.9% probability. With a novel cooling scheme utilizing electromagnetically induced transparency on the S1/2 - P1/2 manifold we have achieved simultaneous ground state cooling of two motional sidebands 1.7 MHz apart. Starting from the motional ground state we have demonstrated coherent…
High-density and ultracold atomic gases have emerged as promising media for storage of individual photons for quantum memory applications. In this paper we provide an overview of our theoretical and experimental efforts in this direction, with particular attention paid to manipulation of light storage (a) through complex recurrent optical scattering processes in very high density gases (b) by an external control field in a characteristic electromagnetically induced transparency configuration.
Physical processes that could facilitate coherent control of light propagation are now actively explored. In addition to fundamental interest, these efforts are stimulated by possibilities to develop, for example, a quantum memory for photonic states. At the same time, controlled localization and storage of photonic pulses may allow novel approaches to manipulate light via enhanced nonlinear optical processes. Recently, Electromagnetically Induced Transparency (EIT) was used to reduce the group velocity of propagating light pulses and to reversibly map propagating light pulses into stationary …
With our all-atomic squeezing and filtering setup, we demonstrate control over the noise amplitudes and manipulation of the frequency-dependent squeezing angle of a squeezed vacuum quantum state by passing it through an atomic medium with electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT). We generate low sideband frequency squeezed vacuum using the polarization self-rotation effect in a hot Rb vapor cell, and input it into a second atomic vapor subject to EIT conditions. We use the frequency-dependent absorption of the EIT window to demonstrate an example of squeeze amplitude attenuation and sque…
Interfacing light and matter at the quantum level is at the heart of modern atomic and optical physics and enables new quantum technologies involving the manipulation of single photons and atoms. A prototypical atom-light interface is electromagnetically induced transparency, in which quantum interference gives rise to hybrid states of photons and atoms called dark-state polaritons. We have observed individual dark-state polaritons as they propagate through an ultracold atomic gas involving Rydberg states. Strong long-range interactions between Rydberg atoms give rise to an effective interacti…
An optical field will undergo coherent diffusion when it is mapped into thermal-motioned atoms, e.g., in a slow or storage light process. As was demonstrated before, such diffusion effect is equivalent to a spatial low-pass filter attenuating the high spatial frequency (SF) components of the optical field. Here, employing electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) based light storage in hot atomic vapor, we demonstrate that the angular deviation between the control and probe beams could be utilized as a degree of freedom to modulate the SF of the probe beam. The principle is to change the …
Linear and nonlinear optical torque in multi-level atomic systems driven by counter-rotating orbital angular momentum fields
Institute of Theoretical Physics and Astronomy, Vilnius University（维尔纽斯大学理论物理与天文研究所）；Laser Research Center, Vilnius University（维尔纽斯大学激光研究中心）；Département Physique, Faculté des Sciences, Aix-Marseille Université（艾克斯-马赛大学理学院物理系）；Baltic Institute of Advanced Technology（波罗的海先进技术研究所）
A control mechanism for stopping x-ray pulses in resonant nuclear media is investigated theoretically. We show that narrow-band x-ray pulses can be mapped and stored as nuclear coherence in a thin-film planar x-ray cavity with an embedded $^{57}\mathrm{Fe}$ nuclear layer. The pulse is nearly resonant to the 14.4 keV Mössbauer transition in the $^{57}\mathrm{Fe}$ nuclei. The role of the control field is played here by a hyperfine magnetic field which induces interference effects reminding of electromagnetically induced transparency. We show that by switching off the control magnetic field, a na…
The polarization of optical fields is a crucial degree of freedom in the all-optical analogue of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT). However, the physical origins of EIT and polarization induced phenomena have not been well distinguished, which can lead to confusion in associated applications such as slow light and optical/quantum storage. Here we study the polarization effects in various optical EIT systems. We find that a polarization mismatch between whispering gallery modes in two indirectly coupled resonators can induce a narrow transparency window in the transmission spectrum…
