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arXiv:1905.00589 · Advanced Quantum Technologies

Stationary Light in Atomic Media

Jesse L. Everett, Daniel B. Higginbottom, Geoff Campbell, Ping Koy Lam, B. C. Buchler

Published Apr 30, 2019• 17 citations

Abstract

Abstract When ensembles of atoms interact with coherent light fields, a great many interesting and useful effects can be observed. In particular, the group velocity of the coherent fields can be modified dramatically. Electromagnetically induced transparency is perhaps the best known example, giving rise to very slow light. Careful tuning of the optical fields can also produce stored light where a light field is mapped completely into a coherence of the atomic ensemble. In contrast to stored light, in which the optical field is extinguished, stationary light is a bright field of light with a group velocity of zero. Stationary light has applications in situations where it is important to maintain an optical field, such as attempts to engineer large nonlinear interactions. In this paper, the stationary light demonstrations published to date are reviewed and a unified theoretical framework that describes the experimental observations is provided. Possible applications of stationary light are also discussed, with a particular focus on all‐optical phase gates for quantum information technology.

DOI: 10.1002/qute.201800100

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Coherent preparation by laser light of quantum states of atoms and molecules can lead to quantum interference in the amplitudes of optical transitions. In this way the optical properties of a medium can be dramatically modified, leading to electromagnetically induced transparency and related effects, which have placed gas-phase systems at the center of recent advances in the development of media with radically new optical properties. This article reviews these advances and the new possibilities they offer for nonlinear optics and quantum information science. As a basis for the theory of electromagnetically induced transparency the authors consider the atomic dynamics and the optical response of the medium to a continuous-wave laser. They then discuss pulse propagation and the adiabatic evolution of field-coupled states and show how coherently prepared media can be used to improve frequency conversion in nonlinear optical mixing experiments. The extension of these concepts to very weak optical fields in the few-photon limit is then examined. The review concludes with a discussion of future prospects and potential new applications.

We present a detailed theoretical description of the generation of stationary light pulses by standing-wave electromagnetically induced transparency in media comprised of stationary atoms such as ultracold gasses and solids. We show that, contrary to thermal gas media, the achievable storage times are limited only by the ground state dephasing rate of the atoms, making such media ideally suited for nonlinear optical interactions between stored pulses. Furthermore, we find significant quantitative and qualitative differences between the two types of media, which are important for quantum-information processing schemes involving stationary light pulses.

Summary form only given. Exciting observations of ultra-slow group velocities and very large nonlinearities in coherently driven atomic media open up interesting prospectives for nonlinear optical processes at low light levels. Recent experiments, for instance, demonstrated that very efficient nonlinear phenomena can be induced by laser fields of tiny energies. These developments stimulate the studies of ultimate efficiency limits for nonlinear optics based on electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) as well as its possible applications for generation and manipulation of quantum entangled states of the light fields and matter. We describe a particular method that allows for two slow light fields of energies corresponding to that of a single photon to interact coherently.

We present a detailed theoretical description of the generation of stationary light pulses by standing wave electromagnetically induced transparency in media comprised of stationary atoms. We show that, contrary to thermal gas media, the achievable storage times are limited only by the ground state dephasing rate of the atoms, making such media ideally suited for nonlinear optical interactions between stored pulses. Furthermore, we find significant quantitative and qualitative differences between the two types of media, which are important for quantum information processing schemes involving stationary light pulses.

Stationary and slow light effects are of great interest for quantum information applications. Using laser-cooled Rb87 atoms, we performed side imaging of our atomic ensemble under slow and stationary light conditions, which allows direct comparison with numerical models. The polaritons were generated using electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT), with stationary light generated using counter-propagating control fields. By controlling the power ratio of the two control fields, we show fine control of the group velocity of the stationary light. We also compare the dynamics of stationary light using monochromatic and bichromatic control fields. Our results show negligible difference between the two situations, in contrast to previous work in EIT-based systems.