The understanding of dynamical evolutions of interacting photon pulses in Rydberg atomic ensemble is the prerequisite for realizing quantum devices with such system. We present an approach that efficiently simulates the dynamical processes, using a set of local functions we construct to reflect the profiles of narrowband pulses. For two counter-propagating photon pulses, our approach predicts the distinct phenomena from the widely concerned Rydberg blockade to the previously less noticed significant absorption in the anomalous dispersion regime, which can occur by respectively setting the pulse frequency to the appropriate values. Our numerical simulations also demonstrate how spatially extending photon pulses become deformed under realistic non-uniform interaction over their distributions.
The understanding of dynamical evolutions of interacting photon pulses in Rydberg atomic ensemble is the prerequisite for realizing quantum devices with such system. We present an approach that efficiently simulates the dynamical processes, using a set of local functions we construct to reflect the profiles of narrowband pulses. For two counter-propagating photon pulses, our approach predicts the distinct phenomena from the widely concerned Rydberg blockade to the previously less noticed significant absorption in the anomalous dispersion regime, which can occur by respectively setting the pulse frequency to the appropriate values. Our numerical simulations also demonstrate how spatially extending photon pulses become deformed under realistic non-uniform interaction over their distributions.
We study the interaction of two photons in a Rydberg atomic ensemble under the condition of electromagnetically induced transparency, combining a semiclassical approach for pulse propagation and a complete quantum treatment for quantum state evolution. We find that the blockade regime is not suitable for implementing photon-photon cross-phase modulation due to pulse absorption and dispersion. However, approximately ideal cross-phase modulation can be realized based on relatively weak interactions, with counterpropagating and transversely separated pulses.
Stopping and regenerating a pair of single-photon pulses at adjacent locations in coherently prepared Rydberg atomic ensembles are significantly affected by their effective interaction mediated by Rydberg excitations, and the similar processes can differ notably from the one exhibiting the common Rydberg blockade as with the stationary propagation of multi-photon light beams in the same medium. Based on the complete dynamics, we reveal the detailed features in such processes by finding how the profiles of the involved quantum fields evolve in various situations. The findings help to determine the proper regimes for implementing photonic gates and transistors. In addition, we discuss the non-adiabatic corrections associated with quickly changing control fields, and illustrate a method that restores the photon pulses' original amplitude during their retrieval unless they are heavily damped before storage.
Realizing strong interactions between individual photons, mediated by matter, is a cornerstone for advancing photonic quantum computing and quantum nonlinear optics. In such systems, the interaction range is typically limited by the narrow bandwidth of the material excitation, resulting in a trade-off between interaction strength and pulse duration. Here, we address this limitation by exploring interactions between counter-propagating photons mediated by Rydberg polaritons. We experimentally demonstrate strong photon–photon interactions, achieving a record-long anti-correlation range exceeding 1 µs. This extended range enables photon pulses that are long enough to fit within the polariton bandwidth, yet short enough to remain within the interaction range. Under these conditions, we observe complete photon blockade of entire pulses, tunable via their relative timing. Extending to the three-photon regime, we observe enhanced interactions when a photon encounters a counter-propagating pair. These results, supported by analytical theory and numerical simulations, establish counter-propagating Rydberg polaritons as a powerful platform for engineering interactions in quantum light fields, enabling deterministic photonic operations and opening new directions in few-photon quantum dynamics.
Rydberg atoms represent a platform underpinning many recent developments in quantum computation, simulation, sensing, and metrology. They further facilitate optical nonlinearity at the single-photon level when coupled to photons propagating in atomic clouds, which form collective atomic excitations called Rydberg polaritons, strongly interacting with each other. Here, we experimentally explore interactions between a Rydberg polariton in an atomic ensemble and a single, adjacent, Rydberg atom. We discover three different regimes of quantum dynamics corresponding to polariton blockade, coherent exchange, and probabilistic hopping, which are defined by their distinct transmission characteristics, with a transition through an exceptional point occurring between blockade and coherent exchange. We investigate the applications of such interactions for fast, non-destructive detection of Rydberg atoms and present proof-of-principle demonstrations for their potential application in nonlinear photonic networks.
Classical simulation of quantum systems plays an important role in the study of many-body phenomena and in the benchmarking and verification of quantum technologies. Exact simulation is often limited to small systems because the dimension of the Hilbert space increases exponentially with the size of the system. For systems that possess a high degree of symmetry, however, classical simulation can reach much larger sizes. Here we consider an ensemble of strongly interacting atoms with permutation symmetry, enabling the computation of certain collective observables for hundreds of atoms at arbitrarily long evolution times. The system is realized by an ensemble of three-level atoms, where one of the levels corresponds to a highly excited Rydberg state. In the limit of all-to-all Rydberg blockade, the Hamiltonian is invariant under permutation of the atoms. Using techniques from representation theory, we construct a block-diagonal form of the Hamiltonian, where the size of the largest block increases only linearly with the system size. We apply this formalism to derive efficient pulse sequences to prepare arbitrary permutation-invariant quantum states. Moreover, we study the quantum dynamics following a quench, uncovering a parameter regime in which the system thermalizes slowly and exhibits pronounced revivals. Our results create opportunities for the experimental and theoretical study of large interacting and nonintegrable quantum systems. Published by the American Physical Society 2024
Storing interacting photons in ensembles of highly excited Rydberg atoms makes it possible to realize photon-photon gates. The efficiency of stopping and retrieving pairs of single-photon pulses in any Rydberg medium is, however, significantly influenced by their mutual interaction. The corresponding dynamical process is rather complicated due to the interaction constantly changing with the relative positions of photon pulses and the associated dissipation. Applying the numerical calculations based on first principles, we reveal the detail of such a dynamical process by showing how the interacting pulses evolve in various situations. Other important issues, such as the use of nonadiabatic passage for stopping photons and the optimal way to regenerate photons, are also investigated.