Coherent spin control by electromagnetic vacuum fluctuations
Jing Wang, Ren‐Bao Liu, Bang-Fen Zhu +2 more
In coherent control, electromagnetic vacuum fluctuations usually cause coherence loss through irreversible spontaneous emission. However, since the dissipation via emission is essentially due to correlation of the fluctuations, when emission ends in a superposition of multiple final states, correlation between different pathways may build up if the ``which way'' information is not fully resolved (i.e., the emission spectrum is broader than the transition energy range). Such correlation can be exploited for spin-flip control in a $\ensuremath{\Lambda}$-type three-level system, which manifests itself as an all-optical spin echo in nonlinear optics with two orders of optical fields saved as compared with stimulated Raman processes. This finding represents a class of optical nonlinearity induced by electromagnetic vacuum fluctuations.
arXiv:0909.4005•Physical Review A•May 23, 2011•0 citations