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:2309.08257 · Physical Review Letters

Strongly Nonlinear Interaction between Nonclassical Light and a Blockaded Rydberg Atomic Ensemble

Jan Lowinski, Lukas Heller, Félix Hoffet, Auxiliadora Padrón-Brito, Klara Theophilo, Hugues de Riedmatten

Published Jan 30, 2024• 12 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

We investigate the interaction between nonclassical light with a tunable multiphoton component and a highly nonlinear medium based on cold Rydberg atoms. The nonclassical field emitted by a DLCZ quantum memory is stored using Rydberg electromagnetically induced transparency, experiencing strong nonlinear response due to the dipole blockade. We show that the storage efficiency in the Rydberg ensemble decreases as a function of the multiphoton strength of the input field, as a result of the nonlinearity. We also show that the autocorrelation function g^{(2)}(0) of the retrieved field after storage in the Rydberg state is considerably reduced, leading to the first demonstration of single photon filtering with nonclassical input light. Finally, we develop a simple simulation that allows us to model the effect of our medium on the input state. This work is a step towards matter-mediated photon-photon interactions with nonclassical light.

DOI
10.1103/physrevlett.132.053001

Related papers

Storing single photons emitted by a quantum memory on a highly excited Rydberg state

Emanuele Distante, Pau Farrera, Auxiliadora Padrón-Brito +3 more

Strong interaction between two single photons is a long standing and important goal in quantum photonics. This would enable a new regime of nonlinear optics and unlock several applications in quantum information science, including photonic quantum gates and deterministic Bell-state measurements. In the context of quantum networks, it would be important to achieve interactions between single photons from independent photon pairs storable in quantum memories. So far, most experiments showing nonlinearities at the single-photon level have used weak classical input light. Here we demonstrate the storage and retrieval of a paired single photon emitted by an ensemble quantum memory in a strongly nonlinear medium based on highly excited Rydberg atoms. We show that nonclassical correlations between the two photons persist after retrieval from the Rydberg ensemble. Our result is an important step towards deterministic photon-photon interactions, and may enable deterministic Bell-state measurements with multimode quantum memories.

arXiv:1804.07259•Nature Communications•Jan 19, 2017•60 citations

Storage and retrieval of a single photon emitted by a quantum memory on a highly excited Rydberg state

Emanuele Distante, Pau Farrera, Auxiliadora Padrón-Brito +3 more

Summary form only given. Strong interaction between two single photons [1], is a long standing and important goal in quantum photonics. This would enable a new regime of nonlinear optics and unlock several applications in quantum information science, including photon-photon gates and deterministic Bell-state measurements for quantum networking. In the context of quantum networks [2], a particularly important case is to achieve strong interaction between single photons from independent photon pairs that can be stored in quantum memories. So far, most of the efforts towards nonlinear effects at the single-photon level have been realized using weak classical input light.In this contribution, we demonstrate the storage and retrieval of a paired single photon emitted by an ensemble quantum memory in a strongly nonlinear medium based on highly excited Rydberg atomic excitations [3,4]. We demonstrate that non-classical correlations between the two photons persist after the retrieval from the Rydberg ensemble. We show that our Rydberg cold atomic ensemble displays optical nonlinearity with input pulses containing few tens of photons. Our results [5], mark an important step towards deterministic photonphoton interactions, and may enable deterministic Bell-state measurement with multimode quantum memories.

Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics Europe & European Quantum Electronics Conference (CLEO/Europe-EQEC)•Jun 1, 2017•2 citations

Nonclassical storage and retrieval of a multiphoton pulse in cold Rydberg atoms

Xue-Dong Tian, Yi-Mou Liu, Qian-Qian Bao +3 more

We investigate the storage and retrieval of a multiphoton probe field in cold Rydberg atoms with an effective method based on the superatom model. This probe field is found greatly attenuated in light intensity and two-photon correlation yet suffering little temporal broadening as a result of the partial dipole blockade of Rydberg excitation. In particular, the output field energy exhibits an intriguing saturation effect against the input field energy accompanied by an inhomogeneous nonclassical antibunching feature as a manifestation of the dynamic cooperative optical nonlinearity. Our numerical results are qualitatively consistent with those in a recent experiment and could be extended to pursue quantum information applications of nonclassical light fields.

Physical Review A•Apr 9, 2018•14 citations

Storage Enhanced Nonlinearities in a Cold Atomic Rydberg Ensemble

Emanuele Distante, Auxiliadora Padrón-Brito, Matteo Cristiani +2 more

The combination of electromagnetically induced transparency with the nonlinear interaction between Rydberg atoms provides an effective interaction between photons. In this Letter, we investigate the storage of optical pulses as collective Rydberg atomic excitations in a cold atomic ensemble. By measuring the dynamics of the stored Rydberg polaritons, we experimentally demonstrate that storing a probe pulse as Rydberg polaritons strongly enhances the Rydberg mediated interaction compared to the slow propagation case. We show that the process is characterized by two time scales. At short storage times, we observe a strong enhancement of the interaction due to the reduction of the Rydberg polariton group velocity down to 0. For longer storage times, we observe a further, weaker enhancement dominated by Rydberg induced dephasing of the multiparticle components of the state. In this regime, we observe a nonlinear dependence of the Rydberg polariton coherence time with the input photon number. Our results have direct consequences in Rydberg quantum optics and may enable the test of new theories of strongly interacting Rydberg systems.

arXiv:1605.07478•Physical Review Letters•Sep 8, 2016•39 citations

Storage Enhanced Nonlinearities in a Cold Atomic Rydberg Ensemble

Emanuele Distante, Auxiliadora Padrón-Brito, Matteo Cristiani +2 more

The combination of electromagnetically induced transparency with the nonlinear interaction between Rydberg atoms provides an effective interaction between photons. In this Letter, we investigate the storage of optical pulses as collective Rydberg atomic excitations in a cold atomic ensemble. By measuring the dynamics of the stored Rydberg polaritons, we experimentally demonstrate that storing a probe pulse as Rydberg polaritons strongly enhances the Rydberg mediated interaction compared to the slow propagation case. We show that the process is characterized by two time scales. At short storage times, we observe a strong enhancement of the interaction due to the reduction of the Rydberg polariton group velocity down to 0. For longer storage times, we observe a further, weaker enhancement dominated by Rydberg induced dephasing of the multiparticle components of the state. In this regime, we observe a nonlinear dependence of the Rydberg polariton coherence time with the input photon number. Our results have direct consequences in Rydberg quantum optics and may enable the test of new theories of strongly interacting Rydberg systems.

•Sep 26, 2016•0 citations

Collective behaviour in ensembles of ultracold rubidium atoms

Teodora Ilieva

High optical nonlinearities can be achieved at the single photon level by coupling the photon states to strongly interacting Rydberg excitations under the conditions of electromagnetically induced transparency. The nonlinear response in Rydberg quantum optics comes as a direct result of the long range dipole-dipole interactions via Rydberg blockade and interaction induced dephasing. In this thesis, Rydberg quantum optics experiments are performed with two spatially separated mediums with a nonlinear response at the single photon level. Two ultracold rubidium atomic clouds are tightly confined by a pair of in-vacuo aspheric lenses such that only a few Rydberg excitations can exist in each one of the clouds simultaneously. The long range character of the dipole-dipole interactions leads to the generation of quantum states of light. The effective photon-photon interactions are directly observed as an anti-correlation in the simultaneous photon retrieval as a result of the non resonant van der Waals interactions. The collective Rydberg excitations, stored in the non-overlapping mediums, experience an additional spatial non-uniform phase. In addition, we experimentally characterize the cooperative optical response of a cold atomic medium at a single photon level. This aims to exploit the enhancement of the spontaneous emissions decay rate (superradiance) as a dependence of the number of atoms involved in the ensemble. The observed atomic response in two different regimes gives a further understanding of the system dynamics and unlocks a promising potential route towards the implementation in scalable, multichannel quantum optical devices.

•Jan 1, 2019•0 citations
We investigate the interaction between nonclassical light with a tunable multiphoton component and a highly nonlinear medium based on cold Rydberg atoms. The nonclassical field emitted by a DLCZ quantum memory is stored using Rydberg electromagnetically induced transparency, experiencing strong nonlinear response due to the dipole blockade. We show that the storage efficiency in the Rydberg ensemble decreases as a function of the multiphoton strength of the input field, as a result of the nonlinearity. We also show that the autocorrelation function g^{(2)}(0) of the retrieved field after storage in the Rydberg state is considerably reduced, leading to the first demonstration of single photon filtering with nonclassical input light. Finally, we develop a simple simulation that allows us to model the effect of our medium on the input state. This work is a step towards matter-mediated photon-photon interactions with nonclassical light.
Strong interaction between two single photons is a long standing and important goal in quantum photonics. This would enable a new regime of nonlinear optics and unlock several applications in quantum information science, including photonic quantum gates and deterministic Bell-state measurements. In the context of quantum networks, it would be important to achieve interactions between single photons from independent photon pairs storable in quantum memories. So far, most experiments showing nonlinearities at the single-photon level have used weak classical input light. Here we demonstrate the storage and retrieval of a paired single photon emitted by an ensemble quantum memory in a strongly nonlinear medium based on highly excited Rydberg atoms. We show that nonclassical correlations between the two photons persist after retrieval from the Rydberg ensemble. Our result is an important step towards deterministic photon-photon interactions, and may enable deterministic Bell-state measurements with multimode quantum memories.
Summary form only given. Strong interaction between two single photons [1], is a long standing and important goal in quantum photonics. This would enable a new regime of nonlinear optics and unlock several applications in quantum information science, including photon-photon gates and deterministic Bell-state measurements for quantum networking. In the context of quantum networks [2], a particularly important case is to achieve strong interaction between single photons from independent photon pairs that can be stored in quantum memories. So far, most of the efforts towards nonlinear effects at the single-photon level have been realized using weak classical input light.In this contribution, we demonstrate the storage and retrieval of a paired single photon emitted by an ensemble quantum memory in a strongly nonlinear medium based on highly excited Rydberg atomic excitations [3,4]. We demonstrate that non-classical correlations between the two photons persist after the retrieval from the Rydberg ensemble. We show that our Rydberg cold atomic ensemble displays optical nonlinearity with input pulses containing few tens of photons. Our results [5], mark an important step towards deterministic photonphoton interactions, and may enable deterministic Bell-state measurement with multimode quantum memories.
We investigate the storage and retrieval of a multiphoton probe field in cold Rydberg atoms with an effective method based on the superatom model. This probe field is found greatly attenuated in light intensity and two-photon correlation yet suffering little temporal broadening as a result of the partial dipole blockade of Rydberg excitation. In particular, the output field energy exhibits an intriguing saturation effect against the input field energy accompanied by an inhomogeneous nonclassical antibunching feature as a manifestation of the dynamic cooperative optical nonlinearity. Our numerical results are qualitatively consistent with those in a recent experiment and could be extended to pursue quantum information applications of nonclassical light fields.
The combination of electromagnetically induced transparency with the nonlinear interaction between Rydberg atoms provides an effective interaction between photons. In this Letter, we investigate the storage of optical pulses as collective Rydberg atomic excitations in a cold atomic ensemble. By measuring the dynamics of the stored Rydberg polaritons, we experimentally demonstrate that storing a probe pulse as Rydberg polaritons strongly enhances the Rydberg mediated interaction compared to the slow propagation case. We show that the process is characterized by two time scales. At short storage times, we observe a strong enhancement of the interaction due to the reduction of the Rydberg polariton group velocity down to 0. For longer storage times, we observe a further, weaker enhancement dominated by Rydberg induced dephasing of the multiparticle components of the state. In this regime, we observe a nonlinear dependence of the Rydberg polariton coherence time with the input photon number. Our results have direct consequences in Rydberg quantum optics and may enable the test of new theories of strongly interacting Rydberg systems.
The combination of electromagnetically induced transparency with the nonlinear interaction between Rydberg atoms provides an effective interaction between photons. In this Letter, we investigate the storage of optical pulses as collective Rydberg atomic excitations in a cold atomic ensemble. By measuring the dynamics of the stored Rydberg polaritons, we experimentally demonstrate that storing a probe pulse as Rydberg polaritons strongly enhances the Rydberg mediated interaction compared to the slow propagation case. We show that the process is characterized by two time scales. At short storage times, we observe a strong enhancement of the interaction due to the reduction of the Rydberg polariton group velocity down to 0. For longer storage times, we observe a further, weaker enhancement dominated by Rydberg induced dephasing of the multiparticle components of the state. In this regime, we observe a nonlinear dependence of the Rydberg polariton coherence time with the input photon number. Our results have direct consequences in Rydberg quantum optics and may enable the test of new theories of strongly interacting Rydberg systems.
High optical nonlinearities can be achieved at the single photon level by coupling the photon states to strongly interacting Rydberg excitations under the conditions of electromagnetically induced transparency. The nonlinear response in Rydberg quantum optics comes as a direct result of the long range dipole-dipole interactions via Rydberg blockade and interaction induced dephasing. In this thesis, Rydberg quantum optics experiments are performed with two spatially separated mediums with a nonlinear response at the single photon level. Two ultracold rubidium atomic clouds are tightly confined by a pair of in-vacuo aspheric lenses such that only a few Rydberg excitations can exist in each one of the clouds simultaneously. The long range character of the dipole-dipole interactions leads to the generation of quantum states of light. The effective photon-photon interactions are directly observed as an anti-correlation in the simultaneous photon retrieval as a result of the non resonant van der Waals interactions. The collective Rydberg excitations, stored in the non-overlapping mediums, experience an additional spatial non-uniform phase. In addition, we experimentally characterize the cooperative optical response of a cold atomic medium at a single photon level. This aims to exploit the enhancement of the spontaneous emissions decay rate (superradiance) as a dependence of the number of atoms involved in the ensemble. The observed atomic response in two different regimes gives a further understanding of the system dynamics and unlocks a promising potential route towards the implementation in scalable, multichannel quantum optical devices.