We study radial wave packets produced by short-pulsed laser fields acting on Rydberg atoms, using analytical tools from supersymmetry-based quantum-defect theory. We begin with a time-dependent perturbative calculation for alkali-metal atoms, incorporating the atomic-excitation process. This provides insight into the general wave packet behavior and demonstrates agreement with conventional theory. We then obtain an alternative analytical description of a radial wave packet as a member of a particular family of squeezed states, which we call radial squeezed states. By construction, these have close to minimum uncertainty in the radial coordinates during the first pass through the outer apsidal point. The properties of radial squeezed states are investigated, and they are shown to provide a description of certain aspects of Rydberg atoms excited by short-pulsed laser fields. We derive expressions for the time evolution and the autocorrelation of the radial squeezed states, and we study numerically and analytically their behavior in several alkali-metal atoms. Full and fractional revivals are observed. Comparisons show agreement with other theoretical results and with experiment.
We outline an analytical framework for the treatment of radial Rydberg wave packets produced by short laser pulses in the absence of external electric and magnetic fields. Wave packets of this type are localized in the radial coordinates and have p-state angular distributions. We argue that they can be described by a particular analytical class of squeezed states, called radial squeezed states. For hydrogenic Rydberg atoms, we discuss the time evolution of the corresponding hydrogenic radial squeezed states. They are found to undergo decoherence and collapse, followed by fractional and full re…
We construct minimum-uncertainty solutions of the three-dimensional Schrödinger equation with a Coulomb potential. These wave packets are localized in radial and angular coordinates and are squeezed states in three dimensions. They move on elliptical keplerian trajectories and are appropriate for the description of the corresponding Rydberg wave packets, the production of which is the focus of current experimental effort. We extend our analysis to incorporate the effects of quantum defects in alkali-metal atoms, which are used in experiments.
We present a theoretical construction for closest-to-classical wave packets localized in both angular and radial coordinates and moving on a keplerian orbit. The method produces a family of elliptical squeezed states for the planar Coulomb problem that minimize appropriate uncertainty relations in radial and angular coordinates. The time evolution of these states is studied for orbits with different semimajor axes and eccentricities. The elliptical squeezed states may be useful for a description of the motion of Rydberg wave packets excited by short-pulsed lasers in the presence of external fi…
We examine the revival structure of Rydberg wave packets. These wave packets exhibit initial classical periodic motion followed by a sequence of collapse, fractional/full revivals, and fractional/full superrevivals. The effects of quantum defects on wave packets in alkali-metal atoms and a squeezed-state description of the initial wave packets are also described. We then examine the revival structure of Rydberg wave packets in the presence of an external electric field, i.e., the revival structure of Stark wave packets. These wave packets have energies that depend on two quantum numbers and ex…
A terahertz half-cycle pulse was used to retrieve information stored as quantum phase in an $N$-state Rydberg atom data register. The register was prepared as a wave packet with one state phase-reversed from the others (the "marked bit"). A half-cycle pulse then drove a significant portion of the electron probability into the flipped state via multimode interference.
Non dispersive electronic Rydberg wave packets may be created in atoms illuminated by a microwave field of circular polarization. We discuss the spontaneous emission from such states and show that the elastic incoherent component (occuring at the frequency of the driving field) dominates the spectrum in the semiclassical limit, contrary to earlier predictions. We calculate the frequencies of single photon emissions and the associated rates in the "harmonic approximation", i.e. when the wave packet has approximately a Gaussian shape. The results agree well with exact quantum mechanical calculat…
The revival structure and evolution of Rydberg wave packets are studied on a time scale much greater than the revival time $t_{\rm rev}$. We find a new level of revival structure and periodic motion different from that of the known fractional revivals. The new sequence of revivals culminates with the formation of a wave packet that more closely resembles the initial packet than does the full revival at time $t_{\rm rev}$. We refer to such a revival as a superrevival. We also show that an initial radial wave packet may be described as a type of squeezed state known as a radial squeezed state. O…
After a Rydberg wave packet forms, it is known to undergo a series of collapses and revivals within a time period called the revival time $t_{\rm rev}$, at the end of which it resembles its original shape. We study the behavior of Rydberg wave packets on time scales much greater than $t_{\rm rev}$. We find that after a few revival cycles the wave packet ceases to reform at multiples of the revival time. Instead, a new series of collapses and revivals commences, culminating after a time period $t_{\rm sr} \gg t_{\rm rev}$ with the formation of a wave packet that more closely resembles the initi…
We demonstrate an information hiding and retrieval scheme with the relative phases between states in a Rydberg wave packet acting as the bits of a data register. We use a terahertz half-cycle pulse (HCP) to transfer phase-encoded information from an optically accessible angular momentum manifold to another manifold which is not directly accessed by our laser pulses, effectively hiding the information from our optical interferometric measurement techniques. A subsequent HCP acting on these wave packets reintroduces the information back into the optically accessible data register manifold which …
A kick from a unipolar half-cycle pulse (HCP) can redistribute population and shift the relative phase between states in a radial Rydberg wave packet. We have measured the quantum coherence properties following the kick, and show that selected coherences can be destroyed by applying an HCP at specific times. Quantum mechanical simulations show that this is due to redistribution of the angular momentum in the presence of noise. These results have implications for the storage and retrieval of quantum information in the wave packet.
It is known that, after formation, a Rydberg wave packet undergoes a series of collapses and revivals within a time period called the revival time, $t_{\rm rev}$, at the end of which it is close to its original shape. We study the behavior of Rydberg wave packets on time scales much greater than $t_{\rm rev}$. We show that after a few revival cycles the wave packet ceases to reform at multiples of the revival time. Instead, a new series of collapses and revivals commences, culminating after a time period $t_{\rm sr} \gg t_{\rm rev}$ with the formation of a wave packet that more closely resembl…
The interaction between matter and squeezed light has mostly been treated within the approximation that the field correlation time is small. Methods for treating squeezed light with more general correlations currently involve explicitly modeling the systems producing the light. We develop a general purpose input-output theory for a particular form of narrowband squeezed light -- a squeezed wave-packet mode -- that only cares about the statistics of the squeezed field and the shape of the wave packet. This formalism allows us to derive the input-output relations and the master equation. We also…
Time evolution of wave packets built from the eigenstates of the Dirac equation for a hydrogenic system is considered. We investigate the space and spin motion of wave packets which, in the non-relativistic limit, are stationary states with a probability density distributed uniformly along the classical, elliptical orbit (elliptic WP). We show that the precession of such a WP, due to relativistic corrections to the energy eigenvalues, is strongly correlated with the spin motion. We show also that the motion is universal for all hydrogenic systems with an arbitrary value of the atomic number Z.
This paper begins with an examination of the revival structure and long-term evolution of Rydberg wave packets for hydrogen. We show that after the initial cycle of collapse and fractional/full revivals, which occurs on the time scale $t_{\rm rev}$, a new sequence of revivals begins. We find that the structure of the new revivals is different from that of the fractional revivals. The new revivals are characterized by periodicities in the motion of the wave packet with periods that are fractions of the revival time scale $t_{\rm rev}$. These long-term periodicities result in the autocorrelation…
A scheme is proposed to prepare squeezed states and Schrödinger cat-like states of the collective spin degrees of freedom associated with a pair of ground states in an atomic ensemble. The scheme uses an effective Jaynes-Cummings interaction which can be provided by excitation of the atoms to Rydberg states and an effective J_x interaction implemented by a resonant Raman coupling between the atomic ground states. Both dynamical evolution with a constant Hamiltonian and with adiabatic variation of the two interaction terms are studied. We show that by the application of further resonant laser f…
Using the time-dependent annihilation and creation operators, the invariant operators, for a free mass and an oscillator, we find the coherent-squeezed state representation of a travelling general Gaussian wave packet with initial expectation values, $x_0$ and $p_0$, of the position and momentum and variances, $Δx_0$ and $Δp_0$. The initial general Gaussian wave packet takes, up to a normalization factor, the form $e^{i p_0 x/\hbar} e^{- (1 \mp i δ) (x - x_0)^2 / 4 (Δx_0)^2}$, where $δ= \sqrt{(2Δx_0 Δp_0/\hbar)^2 -1}$ denotes a measure of deviation from the minimum uncertainty or the initial p…
Over the years, quite a few proposals have been put forward by various groups to exploit the Stern-Gerlach effect to create stable macroscopic spatial superpositions between micron-sized neutral test masses over appreciably long time scales. One such proposal put forward by Bose et al. and co-workers in 2017 uses this idea to show that two masses cannot be gravitationally entangled if not for the presence of a quantum coherent mediator. A key aspect of this approach involves the measure of the visibility of the SG-interferometer, a quantity that provides an estimate of the degree of spin coher…
The dynamics of a laser-excited Rydberg electron under the influence of a fluctuating laser field are investigated. Rate equations are developed which describe these dynamics in the limit of large laser bandwidths for arbitrary types of laser fluctuations. These equations apply whenever all coherent effects have already been damped out. The range of validity of these rate equations is investigated in detail for the case of phase fluctuations. The resulting asymptotic power laws are investigated which characterize the long time dynamics of the laser-excited Rydberg electron and it is shown to w…
We employ Optimal Control Theory to discover an efficient information retrieval algorithm that can be performed on a Rydberg atom data register using a shaped terahertz pulse. The register is a Rydberg wave packet with one consituent orbital phase-reversed from the others (the ``marked bit''). The terahertz pulse that performs the decoding algorithm does so by by driving electron probability density into the marked orbital. Its shape is calculated by modifying the target of an optimal control problem so that it represents the direct product of all correct solutions to the algorithm.
Creating squeezed and non-classical collective motional many-body states through stroboscopic Rydberg dressing
Institut für Theoretische Physik and Center for Integrated Quantum Science and Technology, Universität Tübingen（蒂宾根大学理论物理研究所与集成量子科学技术中心）；Institute for Applied Physics, University of Bonn（波恩大学应用物理研究所）；RIKEN Center for Quantum Computing (RQC)（理化学研究院量子计算中心）；Physikalisches Institut and Center for Integrated Quantum Science and Technology, Universität Tübingen（蒂宾根大学物理研究所与集成量子科学技术中心）；School of Physics and Astronomy and Centre for the Mathematics and Theoretical Physics of Quantum Non-Equilibrium Systems, The University of Nottingham（诺丁汉大学物理与天文学学院及量子非平衡系统数学与理论物理中心）
We propose a wave packet basis for storing and processing several qubits of quantum information in a single multilevel atom. Using radially localized wave packet states in the Rydberg atom, we construct an orthogonal basis that is related to the usual energy level basis by a quantum Fourier transform. A transform-limited laser pulse that is short compared with the classical Kepler period of the system interacts mainly with the wave packet state localized near the atomic core, allowing selective control in this basis. We argue that wave packet control in this regime is useful for multilevel qua…
We introduce a general formalism, based on the stochastic formulation of quantum mechanics, to obtain localized quasi-classical wave packets as dynamically controlled systems, for arbitrary anharmonic potentials. The control is in general linear, and it amounts to introduce additional quadratic and linear time-dependent terms to the given potential. In this way one can construct for general systems either coherent packets moving with constant dispersion, or dynamically squeezed packets whose spreading remains bounded for all times. In the standard operatorial framework our scheme corresponds t…
The revival structure of Stark wave packets is considered. These wave packets have energies depending on two quantum numbers and are characterized by two sets of classical periods and revival times. The additional time scales result in revival structures different from those of free Rydberg wave packets. We show that Stark wave packets can exhibit fractional revivals. We also show that these wave packets exhibit particular features unique to the Stark effect. For instance, the wave functions can be separated into distinct sums over even and odd values of the principal quantum number. These eve…
We study the photon blockade of two-photon scattering in a one-dimensional waveguide, which contains two atoms coupled via the Rydberg interaction. We obtain the analytic scattering solution of photonic wave packets with the Laplace transform method. We examine the photon correlation by addressing the two-photon relative wave function and the second-order correlation function in the single- and two-photon resonance cases. It is found that, under the single-photon resonance condition, photon bunching and antibunching can be observed in the two-photon transmission and reflection, respectively. I…
We show that the time frequency analysis of the autocorrelation function is, in many ways, a more appropriate tool to resolve fractional revivals of a wave packet than the usual time domain analysis. This advantage is crucial in reconstructing the initial state of the wave packet when its coherent structure is short-lived and decays before it is fully revived. Our calculations are based on the model example of fractional revivals in a Rydberg wave packet of circular states. We end by providing an analytical investigation which fully agrees with our numerical observations on the utility of time…
We present a quantitative semiclassical theory for the decay of nondispersive electronic wave packets in driven, ionizing Rydberg systems. Statistically robust quantities are extracted combining resonance assisted tunneling with subsequent transport across chaotic phase space and a final ionization step.
Wave packet motion in a quantized electromagnetic field: Analytic results
ELI ALPS, The Extreme Light Infrastructure ERIC（ELI ALPS，极端光基础设施欧洲研究基础设施公司）；Department of Theoretical Physics, University of Szeged（塞格德大学理论物理系）；Bolyai Institute, University of Szeged（塞格德大学博莱研究所）；Department of Basic Sciences, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Automation, John von Neumann University（约翰·冯·诺依曼大学机械与自动化学院基础科学系）；Faculty of Physics, Babeş-Bolyai University（巴贝什-博约伊大学物理学院）
We examine the dynamics of a wave packet that initially corresponds to a coherent state in the model of quantum kicked rotator. This main model of quantum chaos, which allows for a transition from regular to to chaotic behavior in the classical limit, may be realized in experiments with cold atoms. We study the generation of squeezed states in the quasiclassical limit and in a time interval when quantum-classical correspondence is yet well-defined. We find that the degree of squeezing depends on the degree of local instability in the system and increases with the Chirikov parameter of stochast…
We develop a systematic variational coherent-squeezed-state expansion for the ground state of the quantum Rabi model, which includes an additional squeezing effect with comparisons to previous coherent-state approach. For finite large ratio between the atomic and field frequency, the essential feature of the ground-state wave function in the super-radiant phase appears, which has a structure of two delocalized wake packets. The single-peaked wave function with one coherent-squeezed state works well even around the critical regime, exhibiting the advantage over the coherent-state method. As the…
We show that a thermal reservoir can effectively act as a squeezed reservoir on atoms that are subject to energy-level modulation. For sufficiently fast and strong modulation, for which the rotating-wave-approximation is broken, the resulting squeezing persists at long times. These effects are analyzed by a master equation that is valid beyond the rotating wave approximation. As an example we consider a two-level-atom in a cavity with Lorentzian linewidth, subject to sinusoidal energy modulation. A possible realization of these effects is discussed for Rydberg atoms.
The problem of wave packet tunneling from a parabolic potential well through a barrier represented by a power potential is considered in the case when the barrier height is much greater than the oscillator ground state energy, and the difference between the average energy of the packet and the nearest oscillator eigenvalue is sufficiently small. The universal Poisson distribution of the partial tunneling rates from the oscillator energy levels is discovered. The explicit expressions for the tunneling rates of different types of packets (coherent, squeezed, even/odd, thermal, etc.) are given in…
The article discusses the properties of time evolution of wave packets in a few systems. Dynamics of wave packet motion for Rydberg atoms with the hierarchy of collapses and revivals is briefly reviewed. The main part of the paper focuses on the new mechanism of quantum reccurrences in wave packet dynamics. This mechanism can occur (in principle) in any physical system with strong enough spin-orbit interaction. We discuss here the SPIN_ORBIT PENDULUM effect that consists in different motions of subpackets possessing different spin fields and results in oscillations of a fraction of average ang…
In Rydberg dressed ultra-cold gases, ground state atoms inherit properties of a weakly admixed Rydberg state, such as sensitivity to long-range interactions. We show that through hyperfine-state dependent interactions, a pair of atom clouds can evolve into a spin and subsequently into a spatial Schrödinger's cat state: The pair, containing 20 atoms in total, is in a coherent superposition of two configurations, with cloud locations separated by micrometers. The mesoscopic nature of the superposition state can be proven with absorption imaging, while the coherence can be revealed though recombi…
Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA)（奥地利科学与技术研究院）；Physics Department, Technical University of Munich, TUM School of Natural Sciences（慕尼黑工业大学物理系）；Munich Center for Quantum Science and Technology (MCQST)（慕尼黑量子科学与技术中心）
We explore the possibility of engineering quantum states of a charged mechanical oscillator by coupling it to a stream of atoms in superpositions of high-lying Rydberg states. Our scheme relies on the driving of a two-phonon resonance within the oscillator by coupling it to an atomic two-photon transition. This approach effectuates a controllable open system dynamics on the oscillator that permits the dissipative creation of squeezed and other non-classical states which are central to applications such as sensing and metrology or for studies of fundamental questions concerning the boundary bet…
Quantum error correction protects the quantum state against noise and decoherence in quantum communication and quantum computation, which enables one to perform fault-torrent quantum information processing. We experimentally demonstrate a quantum error correction scheme with a five-wave-packet code against a single stochastic error, the original theoretical model of which is firstly proposed by S. L. Braunstein and T. A. Walker. Five submodes of a continuous variable cluster entangled state of light are used for five encoding channels. Especially, in our encoding scheme the information of the …
The collective effect of large amounts of atoms exhibit an enhanced interaction between light and atoms. This holds great interest in quantum optics, and quantum information. When a collective excited state of a group of atoms during Rabi oscillation is varying, the oscillation exhibits rich dynamics. Here, we experimentally observe a size-reduction effect of the Rydberg collective state during Rabi oscillation in cold atomic dilute gases. The Rydberg collective state was first created by the Rydberg quantum memory, and we observed a decreased oscillation frequency effect by measuring the time…
A pulse of matter waves may dramatically change its shape when traversing an absorbing barrier with time-dependent transparency. Here we show that this effect can be utilized for controlled manipulation of spatially-localized quantum states. In particular, in the context of atom-optics experiments, we explicitly demonstrate how the proposed approach can be used to generate spatially shifted, split, squeezed and cooled atomic wave packets. We expect our work to be useful in devising new interference experiments with atoms and molecules and, more generally, to enable new ways of coherent control…
We analyze quantum entanglement of Stokes light and atomic electronic polarization excited during single-pass, linear-regime, stimulated Raman scattering in terms of optical wave-packet modes and atomic-ensemble spatial modes. The output of this process is confirmed to be decomposable into multiple discrete, bosonic mode pairs, each pair undergoing independent evolution into a two-mode squeezed state. For this we extend the Bloch-Messiah reduction theorem, previously known for discrete linear systems (S. L. Braunstein, Phys. Rev. A, vol. 71, 055801 (2005)). We present typical mode functions in…
In this paper a coherent superposition of angular momentum states created by absorption of polarized light by molecules is analyzed. Attention is paid to the time evolution of wave packets representing spatial orientation of internuclear axis of diatomic molecule. Two examples are considered in detail. Molecules absorbing light in a permanent magnetic field experiencing Zeeman effect and molecules absorbing light in a permanent electric field experiencing quadratic Stark effect. In a magnetic field we have a wave packet that evolves in time exactly as classical dipole oscillator in a permanent…
The quantum Hall effect is necessarily accompanied by low-energy excitations localized at the edge of a two-dimensional electron system. For the case of electrons interacting via the long-range Coulomb interaction, these excitations are edge magnetoplasmons. We address the time evolution of localized edge-magnetoplasmon wave packets. On short times the wave packets move along the edge with classical E cross B drift. We show that on longer times the wave packets can have properties similar to those of the Rydberg wave packets that are produced in atoms using short-pulsed lasers. In particular, …
With the exception of the harmonic oscillator, quantum wave-packets usually spread as time evolves. We show here that, using the nonlinear resonance between an internal frequency of a system and an external periodic driving, it is possible to overcome this spreading and build non-dispersive (or non-spreading) wave-packets which are well localized and follow a classical periodic orbit without spreading. From the quantum mechanical point of view, the non-dispersive wave-packets are time periodic eigenstates of the Floquet Hamiltonian, localized in the nonlinear resonance island. We discuss the g…
We show that combination of a linearly polarized resonant microwave field and a parallel static electric field may be used to create a non-dispersive electronic wavepacket in Rydberg atoms. The static electric field allows for manipulation of the shape of the elliptical trajectory the wavepacket is propagating on. Exact quantum numerical calculations for realistic experimental parameters show that the wavepacket evolving on a linear orbit can be very easily prepared in a laboratory either by a direct optical excitation or by preparing an atom in an extremal Stark state and then slowly switchin…
Macroscopic quantum optical effects (Schrodinger cat states, squeezing, collapse and revival) for light beams propagating in an inhomogeneous linear medium are demonstrated using exact analytical solutions of wave equation. It is shown that the coherent superposition of macroscopically distinguishable states is generated via mode interference from an initial off-axis single wave-packet. Squeezed cat states with a fidelity > 99% arise periodically and disappear rapidly within limited intervals of a propagation distance. Collapse and revival of wave packets at long-term non-paraxial evolution du…
The highly sensitive, phase- and frequency-resolved detection of microwave electric fields is of central importance for diverse fields ranging from astronomy, remote sensing, communication and microwave quantum technology. However, present quantum sensing of microwave electric fields primarily relies on atom-based electrometers only enabling amplitude measurement. Moreover, the best sensitivity of atom-based electrometers is limited by photon shot noise to few $μ$Vcm$^{-1}$Hz$^{-1/2}$: While going beyond is in principle possible by using squeezed light or Schrödinger-cat state, the former is v…
Wave packets for the Quantum Non-Linear Oscillator are considered in the Generalized Coherent State framerwork. To first order in the non-linearity parameter the Coherent State behaves very similarly to its classical counterpart. The position expectation value oscillates in a simple harmonic manner. The energy-momentum uncertainty relation is time independent as in a harmonic oscillator. Various features, (such as the Squeezed State nature), of the Coherent State have been discussed.
The complex processes leading to the collisional population of ultra-long-lived Rydberg states with very high angular momentum can be explained surprisingly well using classical mechanics. In this article, we explain the reason behind this striking agreement between classical theory and experiment by showing that the classical and quantum dynamics of Rydberg electrons in weak, slowly varying external fields agree beyond the mandates of Ehrenfest's Theorem. In particular, we show that the expectation values of angular momentum and Runge-Lenz vectors in hydrogenic eigenstates obey exactly the sa…
