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AIP conference proceedings

Quantum Optics with Atomic Ensembles and Single Atoms in Cavities

Tracy E. Northup, Harry J. Kimble

Published Jan 1, 2006• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Current experiments in our group explore the quantum interface between matter and light, with the goal of achieving coherent control for implementing quantum information protocols and quantum networks. We outline recent progress in this direction, including localization to the ground state of motion for an atom trapped in an optical cavity, observation of strong coupling between single Cesium atoms and a monolithic resonator, and generation and characterization of entanglement stored in remote atomic ensembles.

DOI
10.1063/1.2400644

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Current experiments in our group explore the quantum interface between matter and light, with the goal of achieving coherent control for implementing quantum information protocols and quantum networks. We outline recent progress in this direction, including localization to the ground state of motion for an atom trapped in an optical cavity, observation of strong coupling between single Cesium atoms and a monolithic resonator, and generation and characterization of entanglement stored in remote atomic ensembles.
Summary form only given. In the quantum optics group at Caltech, we are attempting to lay the foundations for quantum information science by way of advances on several fronts in optical physics. Within the setting of cavity QED, single atoms are strongly coupled to the field of a high finesse optical cavity at the single photon level, with current work directed toward trapping and localization of atoms inside the cavity. Although there are daunting technical problems to overcome, a principal scientific objective is the creation of quantum networks to implement fundamental quantum communication protocols and for distributed quantum computation. Beyond quantum information processing with internal atomic states and photons serving as qubits, we are also investigating algorithms for continuous quantum variables. A recent example is our realization of quantum teleportation for the quadrature amplitudes of a beam of light. The experiment utilizes squeezed-state entanglement to achieve unconditional quantum teleportation.
Cavity quantum electrodynamics (QED) in the strong-coupling regime provides the opportunity to monitor and control the dynamics of a simple quantum system. A single Cesium atom interacts strongly with single-photon fields in the mode of a high-finesse optical cavity. When the resulting coherent coupling rate dominates dissipation in the system, strong coupling is realized and the system displays distinctively quantum behavior. The coupling between atomic internal states and the quantized cavity field allows for diverse protocols in quantum state preparation, quantum communication, and quantum logic. However, the atom's external or motional state must also be taken into account. My research develops cavity QED in the limit where the coherent atom-field coupling dominates the atomic kinetic energy and thus significantly affects the atomic center-of-mass motion. In this regime, the interaction of the atom with the cavity field provides both a means of controlling atomic motion and a signal for detecting that motion in real time with high signal-to-noise. The sensing capability of the ``atom-cavity microscope" is exploited to trap single atoms with single-photon fields and to monitor their orbits in real time as they are bound in the cavity. Such real-time position sensing is the basis for a detailed strategy and ongoing experiment to actively stabilize select aspects of an atom's motion within the cavity. As the cavity-enabled position measurement approaches the standard quantum limit, this work begins to realize a quantum servo for atomic position and to address questions of optimal state estimation and state preparation. In combination with other progress in cavity QED, it furthers the goal of controlled atom-field interactions for quantum information science.
Quantum networks are composed of quantum nodes which coherently interact by way of quantum channels. They offer powerful capabilities for quantum computation, communication, and metrology. A generic requirement for these realizations is the capability to generate and store quantum states among multiple quantum nodes, and to disseminate these resources throughout the network via the quantum channels. In this thesis, I describe a series of experiments whereby single excitations in atomic ensembles are strongly coupled to optical modes and provide efficient means for the coherent control of entangled states between matter and light. By following the seminal proposal by Duan et al., we have generated measurement-induced entanglement of an excitation between two cold atomic ensembles. Using this system, we investigated the relationship for the global bipartite entanglement and local correlations in its subsystems. In addition, we achieved functional quantum nodes for entanglement distribution. Two pairs of remote ensembles at two quantum nodes were prepared into entangled states in a heralded and asynchronous fashion by the conditional controls of the entanglement. The quantum states of the ensembles were then distributed into polarization entangled states of photons. We also prepared an analogous quantum state and transferred the nonlocal coherence between two pairs of heralded entangled atomic ensembles, providing a step towards entanglement connection. Beyond such probabilistic approaches, we demonstrated an experiment where entanglement between two quantum memories is created by the reversible and deterministic mapping of an entangled state of light via dynamic electromagnetically induced transparency. This experiment opens novel prospects of integrating hybrid quantum systems by way of reversible quantum interfaces between light and matter. Then, we extended our work to multipartite quantum systems. We theoretically investigated the characterization of multipartite mode-entangled states by way of quantum uncertainty relations, and introduced theoretical tools to verify the entanglement orders in multipartite systems. In particular, we achieved entanglement for one delocalized photon among multiple optical modes (N > 2). Finally, we have achieved measurement-induced entanglement of spin waves among four quantum memories. The individual atomic components for the entangled W state of the four ensembles were then coherently converted into four propagating entangled beams of light via superradiant emissions. We observed the statistical and dynamic transitions for the multipartite entangled spin waves. Experiments described in this thesis thereby represent significant advances of experimental and theoretical capabilities to generate, store, transfer, and characterize entanglement of matter and light over quantum networks.
In recent years, remarkable advances in the science of laser cooling and trapping of atomic samples have lead to breakthroughs in quantum optics and, in particular, in cavity quantum electrodynamics (QED). The ability to optically trap an atom within the mode of a ultra-high finesse cavity of small mode volume for experimentally significant periods of time now allows for the continuous observation of fundamental quantum optical effects. This dissertation will focus on experiments conducted to fully characterize and exert quantum control over a strongly-coupled atom-cavity system consisting of single cesium atoms isolated by a dipole trapping in the mode of a Fabry-Perot optical resonator. In particular, we describe techniques developed and implemented for exerting coherent control over the internal and quantum motional state of these atoms using stimulated Raman processes. We also focus on the applications of this system to quantum networking and quantum information science, particularly within the context of coherently transferring quantum states from atom to quantum optical fields and back. Finally, we describe a series of measurements carried out to explore the characteristic dynamics of the Jaynes-Cummings Hamiltonian which governs the system. This includes spectroscopic measurement of the signature vacuum Rabi splitting for strongly-coupled cavity QED as well as evidence in the time domain for coherent Rabi nutation of excitation between atom and field on resonance.
A variety of experiments are underway in the Quantum Optics Group at Caltech which investigate the quantum nature of atom-field interactions at the level of individual atoms and quanta. A recent technical advance in support of this research is the observation of cooling and trapping of single neutral cesium atoms in magneto-optical trap. Discrete steps are recorded in the fluorescence signal from the trap and are associated with the arrival and departure of individual trapped atoms. Such a spatially localized sample of a single atom with small kinetic energy is an enabling advance for diverse studies in quantum optics, including the possibility of spectroscopy with squeezed and other forms of nonclassical light and cavity quantum electrodynamics with strong coupling of an atom to the field of an optical cavity.