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arXiv:2605.28316 · Light Science & Applications

Large-scale array of squeezed light and synchronization using atomic vapor

Lin Wang, Xichang Zhang, Konstantin Manannikov, Nir Davidson, Ying Hu, Dongdong Hao, Yanhong Xiao

quant-phSubmitted May 27, 2026• Announced May 28, 2026• 0 citations
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Abstract

Quantum light sources such as squeezed light are essential for quantum information science and technologies, but the scalable production of multiple beams of them remains a challenge. Here,we experimentally demonstrate a novel approach to the generation of a large spatial array of polarization-squeezed light beams via atomic-coherence-enhanced nonlinear optical processes using a single atomic vapor cell. Unlike schemes based on independent squeezing generators, the squeezing dynamics of each channel here are governed by a common collective ground-state atomic coherence, produced by all input beams, homogenized by the thermal motion of the atoms, and protected against wall collisions by a paraffin coating. Consequently, the optical states of all channelsare coupled and regulated by each other via the moving atoms, leading to synchronization behavior.We realized a 30-beam array of polarization squeezed state with 2.03 dB of squeezing, experimentally verified the synchronization, and observed improved purity of the squeezed state as well as the system response to perturbations when the size of the array increases. This work provides a pathway towards scalable high-performance quantum light sources for applications in precision measurement, quantum imaging and quantum information processing.

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Quantum light sources such as squeezed light are essential for quantum information science and technologies, but the scalable production of multiple beams of them remains a challenge. Here,we experimentally demonstrate a novel approach to the generation of a large spatial array of polarization-squeezed light beams via atomic-coherence-enhanced nonlinear optical processes using a single atomic vapor cell. Unlike schemes based on independent squeezing generators, the squeezing dynamics of each channel here are governed by a common collective ground-state atomic coherence, produced by all input beams, homogenized by the thermal motion of the atoms, and protected against wall collisions by a paraffin coating. Consequently, the optical states of all channelsare coupled and regulated by each other via the moving atoms, leading to synchronization behavior.We realized a 30-beam array of polarization squeezed state with 2.03 dB of squeezing, experimentally verified the synchronization, and observed improved purity of the squeezed state as well as the system response to perturbations when the size of the array increases. This work provides a pathway towards scalable high-performance quantum light sources for applications in precision measurement, quantum imaging and quantum information processing.
Spatially splitting nonclassical light beams is in principle prohibited due to noise contamination during beam splitting. We propose a platform based on thermal motion of atoms to realize spatial multiplexing of squeezed light. Light channels of separate spatial modes in an antirelaxation coated vapor cell share the same long-lived atomic coherence jointly created by all channels through the coherent diffusion of atoms, which in turn enhances the individual channel's nonlinear process responsible for light squeezing. Consequently, it behaves as squeezed light in one optical channel transferring to other distant channels even with laser powers below the threshold for squeezed light generation. An array of squeezed light beams is created with low laser power ∼ milliwatt. This approach holds great promise for applications in a multinode quantum network and quantum enhanced technologies such as quantum imaging and sensing.
Quantum correlations and entanglement shared among multiple quantum modes are important for both fundamental science and the future development of quantum technologies. This development will also require an efficient quantum interface between multimode quantum light sources and atomic ensembles, which makes it necessary to implement multimode quantum light sources that match the atomic transitions. Here, we report on such a source that provides a method for generating quantum correlated beams that can be extended to a large number of modes by using multiple four-wave mixing (FWM) processes in hot rubidium vapor. Experimentally, we show that two cascaded FWM processes produce strong quantum correlations between three bright beams but not between any two of them. In addition, the intensity-difference squeezing is enhanced with the cascaded system to -7.0±0.1 dB from the -5.5±0.1/-4.5±0.1 dB squeezing obtained with only one FWM process. One of the main advantages of our system is that as the number of quantum modes increases, so does the total degree of quantum correlations. The proposed method is also immune to phase instabilities due to its phase insensitive nature, can easily be extended to multiple modes, and has potential applications in the production of multiple quantum correlated images.
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.
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.
We show how the directional collective response of atomic arrays to light can be exploited for the dissipative generation of entangled atomic states, relevant for, e.g., quantum metrology. We consider an atomic array illuminated by a paraxial beam of a squeezed-vacuum field and demonstrate that quantum-squeezing correlations are dissipatively transferred to the array atoms, resulting in an atomic spin-squeezed steady state. We find that the entanglement transfer efficiency and hence the degree of spin squeezing are determined by the resonant optical reflectivity of the array. Considering realistic cases of finite-size array and illuminating beam, we find how the spin-squeezing strength scales with system parameters, such as the number of layers in the array and its spatial overlap with the beam. We discuss applications in atomic clocks in both optical and microwave domains.
Multimode quantum states, such as multipartite quantum entanglement or quantum correlations, are important for both fundamental science and the future development of quantum technologies. Here we theoretically propose and experimentally realize a scheme that can fully exploit the multi-spatial-mode nature of the four-wave-mixing (FWM) process, i.e., spatial multiplexing, and thus integrates multiple FWM processes into a single cell at each stage of the cascaded process. The number of generated quantum-correlated beams 2n{2}^{n}2n is exponentially dependent on the number of vapor cells nnn. In addition, the quantum correlations between the multiple beams also increase as the number of vapor cell increases. For the case of n=2n=2n=2, we experimentally show that the degree of intensity-difference squeezing between the four quantum-correlated beams in our scheme is enhanced to $\ensuremath{-}8.2\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.2$ dB from $\ensuremath{-}5.6\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.3$ and $\ensuremath{-}6.5\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.2$ dB of squeezing obtained with a single FWM process. Our system may find applications in quantum information and precision measurement.