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arXiv:1507.02247 · Physical Review A

Spatial multimode structure of atom-generated squeezed light

Mi Zhang, R. Nicholas Lanning, Zhihao Xiao, Jonathan P. Dowling, Irina V. Novikova, Eugeniy E. Mikhailov

Published Jan 28, 2016• 19 citations
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Abstract

We investigated the spatial distribution of quantum fluctuations in a squeezed vacuum field, generated via polarization self-rotation (PSR) interaction of an ensemble of Rb atoms and a strong near-resonant linearly polarized laser field. We found that the noise suppression is greatly effected by the transverse profile of a spatial mask, placed in both the squeezed field and the local oscillator, as well as its position along the focused beam near the focal point. These observations indicate the spatial multimode structure of the squeezed vacuum field. We have developed a theoretical model that describes the generation of higher-order Laguerre-Gauss modes as a result of PSR light-atom interaction. The prediction of this model is in a good qualitative agreement with the experimental measurements.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.93.013853

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We investigated the spatial distribution of quantum fluctuations in a squeezed vacuum field, generated via polarization self-rotation (PSR) interaction of an ensemble of Rb atoms and a strong near-resonant linearly polarized laser field. We found that the noise suppression is greatly effected by the transverse profile of a spatial mask, placed in both the squeezed field and the local oscillator, as well as its position along the focused beam near the focal point. These observations indicate the spatial multimode structure of the squeezed vacuum field. We have developed a theoretical model that describes the generation of higher-order Laguerre-Gauss modes as a result of PSR light-atom interaction. The prediction of this model is in a good qualitative agreement with the experimental measurements.
Squeezed states of light, with field fluctuations smaller than the coherent state fluctuations (or shot noise), are used for improving accuracy of quantum-noise limited measurements, like the detection of gravitational waves. They are also essential resources for quantum information transfer protocols. We studied a squeezed vacuum field generated in hot Rb vapor via the polarization self-rotation effect. We studied the mode structure of the squeezed field by spatially-masking the laser beam after its interaction with the Rb atomic vapor. From analysis of the data we developed a multi-mode theory to simulate the mode composition of the squeezed vacuum field. Our experiments showed that the amount of observed squeezing may be limited by the complex mode structure due to the excitement of higher order spatial modes during the nonlinear atom-light interaction. We demonstrated that optimization of the spatial profile of the beam led to higher detected squeezing. Our studies are useful for enhancing precision metrology and quantum memory applications.
Squeezed states of light, i.e., quantum states exhibiting reduced noise statistics, may be used to greatly enhance the sensitivity of light-based measurements. We study a squeezed vacuum field generated in hot Rb vapor via the polarization self-rotation effect. By propagating a strong pump beam through an atomic vapor cell, we were able to achieve a noise suppression of 2.7 dB below shot noise. Our previous work revealed that this amount of noise suppression may be limited by the excitement of higher order modes in the squeezed field during the atom-light interaction. Once incident on the homodyne detection scheme, these higher order modes may induce an imperfect mode match between the squeezed field and the local oscillator (LO). In this work, we used a liquid-crystal-based spatial light modulator to modify the spatial mode structure of the pump and LO beams. We demonstrate that optimization of the spatial modes can lead to higher detected noise suppression.
Nonclassical states of light are of increasing interest due to their applications in the emerging field of quantum information processing and communication. Squeezed light is such a state of the electromagnetic field in which the quantum noise properties are altered compared with those of coherent light. Squeezed light and squeezed vacuum states are potentially useful for quantum information protocols as well as optical measurements, where sensitivities can be limited by quantum noise. We experimentally study a source of squeezed vacuum resulting from the interaction of near-resonant light with both cold and hot Rb atoms via the nonlinear polarization self-rotation effect (PSR). We investigate the optimal conditions for noise reduction in the resulting squeezed states, reaching quadrature squeezing levels of up to 2.6 dB below shot noise, as well as observing noise reduction for a broad range of detection frequencies, from tens of kHz to several MHz. We use this source of squeezed vacuum at 795 nm to further study the noise properties of these states and how they are affected by resonant atomic interactions. This includes the use of a squeezed light probe to give a quantum enhancement to an optical magnetometer, as well as studying the propagation of squeezed vacuum in an atomic medium under conditions of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT). We also investigate the propagation of pulses of quantum squeezed light through a dispersive atomic medium, where we examine the possibilities for quantum noise signals traveling at subluminal and superluminal velocities. The interaction of squeezed light with resonant atomic vapors finds various potential applications in both quantum measurements and continuous variable quantum memories.
We demonstrated that by using a pump field with nonzero orbital angular momentum (OAM) in the polarization self-rotation squeezing process it is possible to generate a squeezed vacuum optical field with the matching OAM. We found a similar level of maximum quantum noise reduction for a first-order Laguerre-Gaussian pump beam and a regular Gaussian pump beam, even though the optimal operational conditions differed in these two cases. Also, we investigated the effect of self-defocusing on the level of the vacuum squeezing by simultaneously monitoring the minimum quantum noise level and the output beam transverse profile at various pump laser powers and atomic densities and found no direct correlations between the increased beam size and the degree of measured squeezing.
We study a squeezed vacuum field generated in hot Rb vapor via the polarization self-rotation effect. Our previous experiments showed that the amount of observed squeezing may be limited by the contamination of the squeezed vacuum output with higher-order spatial modes, also generated inside the cell. Here, we demonstrate that the squeezing can be improved by making the light interact several times with a less dense atomic ensemble. With optimization of some parameters we can achieve up to $\ensuremath{-}2.6$ dB of squeezing in the multipass case, which is a 0.6 dB improvement compared to the single-pass experimental configuration. Our results show that, other than the optical depth of the medium, the spatial mode structure and the cell configuration also affect the squeezing level.