Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

arXiv:0708.0399 · Physical Review A

Diffusion-induced decoherence of stored optical vortices

T. Wang, Lu Zhao, Liang Jiang, Susanne F. Yelin

Published Apr 10, 2008• 36 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

We study the coherence properties of optical vortices stored in atomic ensembles. In the presence of thermal diffusion, the topological nature of stored optical vortices is found not to guarantee slow decoherence. Instead the stored vortex state's decoherence is surprisingly larger than the stored Gaussian mode. Furthermore, calculation of the coherence factor shows that the center of the stored vortex becomes completely incoherent once diffusion begins and, when a reading laser is applied, the optical intensity at the center of the vortex becomes nonzero. Its implication for quantum information is discussed. A comparison of classical diffusion and quantum diffusion is also presented.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.77.043815

Related papers

Topological Stability of Stored Optical Vortices

Rami Pugatch, M. Shuker, Ofer Firstenberg +2 more

We report an experiment in which an optical vortex is stored in a vapor of Rb atoms. Because of its 2pi phase twist, this mode, also known as the Laguerre-Gauss mode, is topologically stable and cannot unwind even under conditions of strong diffusion. For comparison, we stored a Gaussian beam with a dark center and a uniform phase. Contrary to the optical vortex, which stays stable for over 100 micros, the dark center in the retrieved flat-phased image was filled with light after a storage time as short as 10 micros. The experiment proves that higher electromagnetic modes can be converted into atomic coherences and that modes with phase singularities are robust to decoherence effects such as diffusion. This opens the possibility to more elaborate schemes for classical and quantum information storage in atomic vapors.

arXiv:quant-ph/0701132•Physical Review Letters•May 14, 2007•199 citations

Diffusion of quantum vortices

E Rickinson, Nicholas G. Parker, Andrew William Baggaley +1 more

We determine the evolution of a cluster of quantum vortices initially placed at the center of a larger vortex-free region. We find that the cluster spreads out spatially. This spreading motion consists of two effects: the rapid evaporation of vortex dipoles from the cluster and the slow expansion of the cluster itself. The latter is akin to a diffusion process controlled by the quantum of circulation. Numerical simulations of the Gross-Pitaevskii equation show that this phenomenon is qualitatively unaffected by the presence of sound waves, vortex annihilations, and boundaries, and it should be possible to create it in the laboratory.

•Aug 7, 2018•0 citations

Diffusion of quantum vortices

E. Rickinson, Nicholas G. Parker, Andrew William Baggaley +1 more

We determine the evolution of a cluster of quantum vortices initially placed at the center of a larger vortex-free region. We find that the cluster spreads out spatially. This spreading motion consists of two effects: the rapid evaporation of vortex dipoles from the cluster and the slow expansion of the cluster itself. The latter is akin to a diffusion process controlled by the quantum of circulation. Numerical simulations of the Gross-Pitaevskii equation show that this phenomenon is qualitatively unaffected by the presence of sound waves, vortex annihilations, and boundaries, and it should be possible to create it in the laboratory.

arXiv:1805.09187•Physical Review A•Aug 7, 2018•7 citations

Transfer and Storage of Vortex States in Light and Matter Waves

Zachary Dutton, Janne Ruostekoski

We theoretically explore the transfer of vortex states between atomic Bose-Einstein condensates and optical pulses using ultraslow and stopped light techniques. We find shining a coupling laser on a rotating two-component ground state condensate with a vortex lattice generates a probe laser field with optical vortices. We also find that optical vortex states can be robustly stored in the atomic superfluids for times, in Rb-87 condensates, limited only by the ground state coherence time.

arXiv:cond-mat/0405159•Physical Review Letters•Nov 4, 2004•119 citations

Diffusion and self-similarity of stored light in vapor

Ofer Firstenberg, Rami Pugatch, M. Shuker +2 more

The storage of light using electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) has become a well-known technique, with an obvious prospect for future quantum information systems. Utilizing this unique light-matter interaction, the complex amplitude of a 'probe' pulse can be stored onto the ground-state coherence of room-temperature atomic ensemble and can be retrieved after a controllable delay. The storage fidelity is limited by decay mechanisms of the ground-state coherence. This paper presents the study of the spatial behavior of two- and three-dimensional probe fields, under the influence of the thermal atomic diffusion.

Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics Europe & European Quantum Electronics Conference (CLEO/Europe-EQEC)•Jun 1, 2009•0 citations

Vortices in rotating optical lattices: commensurability, hysteresis, and proximity to the Mott State

Daniel S. Goldbaum, Erich J. Mueller

Quantized vortices stunningly illustrate the coherent nature of a superfluid Bose condensate of alkali atoms. Introducing an optical lattice depletes this coherence. Consequently, novel vortex physics may emerge in an experiment on a harmonically trapped gas in the presence of a rotating optical lattice. The most dramatic effects would occur in proximity to the Mott state, an interaction dominated insulator with a fixed integer number of particles per site. We model such a rotating gas, showing that the lattice-induced spatial profile of the superfluid density drives a gross rearrangement of vortices. For example, instead of the uniform vortex lattices commonly seen in experiments, we find parameters for which the vortices all sit at a fixed distance from the center of the trap, forming a ring. Similarly, they can coalesce at the center, forming a giant vortex. We find that the properties of this system are hysteretic, even far from the Mott state. We explain this hysteresis in terms of vortex pinning, commensurability between vortex density and pinning site density, and energy barriers against changing the number of vortices. Finally, we model time-of-flight expansion, demonstrating the experimental observability of our predictions.

arXiv:0807.3609•Jul 23, 2008•0 citations
We study the coherence properties of optical vortices stored in atomic ensembles. In the presence of thermal diffusion, the topological nature of stored optical vortices is found not to guarantee slow decoherence. Instead the stored vortex state's decoherence is surprisingly larger than the stored Gaussian mode. Furthermore, calculation of the coherence factor shows that the center of the stored vortex becomes completely incoherent once diffusion begins and, when a reading laser is applied, the optical intensity at the center of the vortex becomes nonzero. Its implication for quantum information is discussed. A comparison of classical diffusion and quantum diffusion is also presented.
We report an experiment in which an optical vortex is stored in a vapor of Rb atoms. Because of its 2pi phase twist, this mode, also known as the Laguerre-Gauss mode, is topologically stable and cannot unwind even under conditions of strong diffusion. For comparison, we stored a Gaussian beam with a dark center and a uniform phase. Contrary to the optical vortex, which stays stable for over 100 micros, the dark center in the retrieved flat-phased image was filled with light after a storage time as short as 10 micros. The experiment proves that higher electromagnetic modes can be converted into atomic coherences and that modes with phase singularities are robust to decoherence effects such as diffusion. This opens the possibility to more elaborate schemes for classical and quantum information storage in atomic vapors.
We determine the evolution of a cluster of quantum vortices initially placed at the center of a larger vortex-free region. We find that the cluster spreads out spatially. This spreading motion consists of two effects: the rapid evaporation of vortex dipoles from the cluster and the slow expansion of the cluster itself. The latter is akin to a diffusion process controlled by the quantum of circulation. Numerical simulations of the Gross-Pitaevskii equation show that this phenomenon is qualitatively unaffected by the presence of sound waves, vortex annihilations, and boundaries, and it should be possible to create it in the laboratory.
We determine the evolution of a cluster of quantum vortices initially placed at the center of a larger vortex-free region. We find that the cluster spreads out spatially. This spreading motion consists of two effects: the rapid evaporation of vortex dipoles from the cluster and the slow expansion of the cluster itself. The latter is akin to a diffusion process controlled by the quantum of circulation. Numerical simulations of the Gross-Pitaevskii equation show that this phenomenon is qualitatively unaffected by the presence of sound waves, vortex annihilations, and boundaries, and it should be possible to create it in the laboratory.
The storage of light using electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) has become a well-known technique, with an obvious prospect for future quantum information systems. Utilizing this unique light-matter interaction, the complex amplitude of a 'probe' pulse can be stored onto the ground-state coherence of room-temperature atomic ensemble and can be retrieved after a controllable delay. The storage fidelity is limited by decay mechanisms of the ground-state coherence. This paper presents the study of the spatial behavior of two- and three-dimensional probe fields, under the influence of the thermal atomic diffusion.
Quantized vortices stunningly illustrate the coherent nature of a superfluid Bose condensate of alkali atoms. Introducing an optical lattice depletes this coherence. Consequently, novel vortex physics may emerge in an experiment on a harmonically trapped gas in the presence of a rotating optical lattice. The most dramatic effects would occur in proximity to the Mott state, an interaction dominated insulator with a fixed integer number of particles per site. We model such a rotating gas, showing that the lattice-induced spatial profile of the superfluid density drives a gross rearrangement of vortices. For example, instead of the uniform vortex lattices commonly seen in experiments, we find parameters for which the vortices all sit at a fixed distance from the center of the trap, forming a ring. Similarly, they can coalesce at the center, forming a giant vortex. We find that the properties of this system are hysteretic, even far from the Mott state. We explain this hysteresis in terms of vortex pinning, commensurability between vortex density and pinning site density, and energy barriers against changing the number of vortices. Finally, we model time-of-flight expansion, demonstrating the experimental observability of our predictions.