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arXiv:1001.3961 · Physical Review A

Phase evolution in spatial dark states

Suzanne McEndoo, Sarah Croke, J. Brophy, Thomas Busch

Published Apr 29, 2010• 23 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Adiabatic techniques using multilevel systems have recently been generalized from the optical case to settings in atom optics, solid state physics, and even classical electrodynamics. The most well known example of these is the so-called stimulated Raman adiabatic passage (STIRAP) process, which allows transfer of a particle between different states with large fidelity. Here we generalize and examine this process for an atomic center-of-mass state with a nontrivial phase distribution and show that even though dark state dynamics can be achieved for the atomic density, the phase dynamics will still have to be considered as a dynamical process. In particular we show that the combination of adiabatic and nonadiabatic behavior can be used to engineer phase superposition states.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.81.043640

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Influence of Unequal Oscillator Strenghts on Stimulated Raman Adiabatic Passage through Bright State

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•Oct 11, 2011•0 citations
Adiabatic techniques using multilevel systems have recently been generalized from the optical case to settings in atom optics, solid state physics, and even classical electrodynamics. The most well known example of these is the so-called stimulated Raman adiabatic passage (STIRAP) process, which allows transfer of a particle between different states with large fidelity. Here we generalize and examine this process for an atomic center-of-mass state with a nontrivial phase distribution and show that even though dark state dynamics can be achieved for the atomic density, the phase dynamics will still have to be considered as a dynamical process. In particular we show that the combination of adiabatic and nonadiabatic behavior can be used to engineer phase superposition states.
In this paper we consider a generalization of the three-level stimulated Raman adiabatic-passage process (STIRAP). In our scheme, there are $N\ensuremath{-}1$ ground levels and one excited level. The ground levels are coupled with laser pulses through the excited level at multiphoton resonance. The ultimate aim of this scheme is to create coherent-superposition states on the ground levels. In a previous paper [J. Mod. Opt. (to be published), special issue on quantum interference] we have considered this problem from the optimal-control point of view. Here we apply a different approach: We reconsider the adiabatic approximation, which is commonly utilized to describing the STIRAP process. It is shown that in our case, in the adiabatic limit, the dark and bright subspaces of the Hamiltonian are decoupled; however, the nonadiabatic corrections influence significantly the dynamics in the dark subspace. An analytic solution is presented for the case of a five-level system. Moreover, we consider some special examples for the pulse sequences that effect prescribed final superposition states. The robustness of the scheme is studied, and the extension of our scheme is also considered.
Coherent population transfer and superposition of atomic states via a technique of stimulated Raman adiabatic passage in an excited-doublet four-level atomic system have been analyzed. It is shown that the behavior of adiabatic passage in this system depends crucially on the detunings between the laser frequencies and the corresponding atomic transition frequencies. Particularly, if both the fields are tuned to the center of the two upper levels, the four-level system has two degenerate dark states, although one of them contains the contribution from the excited atomic states. The nonadiabatic coupling of the two degenerate dark states is intrinsic, it originates from the energy difference of the two upper levels. An arbitrary superposition of atomic states can be prepared due to such nonadiabatic coupling effect.
Multistate stimulated Raman adiabatic passage (STIRAP) is a process which allows for adiabatic population transfer between the two ends of a chainwise-connected quantum system. The process requires large temporal areas of the driving pulsed fields (pump and Stokes) in order to suppress the nonadiabatic couplings and thereby to make adiabatic evolution possible. To this end, in the present paper a variation of multistate STIRAP, which accelerates and improves the population transfer, is presented. In addition to the usual pump and Stokes fields it uses shortcut fields applied between the states, which form the dark state of the system. The shortcuts cancel the couplings between the dark state and the other adiabatic states thereby resulting (in the ideal case) in a unit transition probability between the two end states of the chain. Specific examples of five-state systems formed of the magnetic sublevels of the transitions between two degenerate levels with angular momenta Jg=2{J}_{g}=2Jg​=2 (of ground or lower level) and Je=1{J}_{e}=1Je​=1 or Je=2{J}_{e}=2Je​=2 (of excited or upper level) are considered in detail, for which the shortcut fields are derived analytically. The proposed method is simpler than the usual ``shortcuts to adiabaticity'' recipe, which prescribes shortcut fields between all states of the system, while the present proposal uses shortcut fields between the sublevels forming the dark state only. The results are of potential interest in applications where high-fidelity quantum control is essential, e.g., quantum information, atom optics, formation of ultracold molecules, cavity QED, etc.
We describe a technique for creating superpositions of degenerate quantum states, such as are needed for beam splitters used in matter-wave optics, by manipulating the timing of three orthogonally polarized laser beams through which moving atoms (or molecules) pass; motion across the laser beams produces pulses in the atomic rest frame. As illustrated with representative simulations for transitions in metastable neon, a single pass through three overlapping laser beams can produce superpositions (with preselected phase) of atomic beams differing by transverse momentum corresponding to the momentum of four photons. Like the two-photon momentum transfer of the tripod linkage pattern which it extends, the method relies on controlled adiabatic time evolution in the Hilbert subspace of two degenerate dark states. It is thus a generalization to multiple dark states (and larger transfers of linear momentum to the atomic beam) of the single dark state occurring with the stimulated Raman adiabatic passage (STIRAP) technique, and therefore it is potentially insensitive to decoherence due to spontaneous emission. By extending the tripod-linkage system to more numerous degenerate states, the technique not only increases the atomic beam deflections but, as we demonstrate, allows control over the superposition phase and amplitudes. LIke other techniques based on adiabatic time evolution, the technique is robust with respect to variations of the intensity, timing, and other characteristics of the laser fields. Unlike STIRAP, the same robust partial population transfer occurs for opposite timings of the pulse sequence, as is needed for such procedures as Hadamard gates.
The problem of the coherent control of atomic states, preparation of atoms in a stable superposition state, and atomic population transfer has attracted much attention in the last decade. One of the main motivations is associated with the rapid development of the field of quantum computing. One of the key problems of quantum information processing is the construction of given coherent superposition atomic states in a macroscopic volume. Stimulated Raman adiabatic passage (STIRAP) [1] is considered to be the most common method for atomic population transfer in quantum systems. Being analyzed in detail on various quantum systems from both theoretical and experimental points of view, this method is widely adopted for the implementation of tools as optical devices for atomic beams, control of chemical reactions, high-precision magnetometry, atom cooling, etc. Meanwhile, an alternative method for population transfer, based on the intuitive pulse sequence with large one-photon detunings was demonstrated in [2]. In contrast with the STIRAP method, where the population transfer is realized via a dark state, the population transfer for the intuitive pulse sequence is obtained via a bright state. The authors of [2] called the atomic population transfer of this kind b-STIRAP. A detailed theoretical analysis of the b-STIRAP process in media with equal oscillator strength on adjacent transitions was performed in [3]. However, it is well-known that an oscillator strengths ratio different from unity can considerably impact on the coherent processes in Λ-media (see e.g. [4]). In the present work an analytical and numerical analysis of the b-STIRAP process in a medium with unequal oscillator strengths is performed. It is shown that the length of population transfer can be considerably increased by an appropriate choice of the dipole transitions. 1. N.V.Vitanov, B.W.Shore,K.Bergman, Adv. Atom.,Mol, Optical Physics, 46, 55-190, (2001). 2. J.Klein, F.Beil, Th.Halfmann, , Phys.Rev.Lett. 99,113003 (2007) 3. G.G. Grigoryan, G. Nikoghosyan, T. Halfmann, Y.T. Pashayan-Leroy, C. Leroy, S.Guerin, Phys.Rev. A 80, 033402 (2009) 4. G.G.Grigoryan, Y.Pashayan, Propagation of pulses in a three-level medium at exact two-photon resonance. Phys.Rev. A 64, 013816, 2001