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

Physics Today

Rydberg excitations power a new single-photon source

Johanna L. Miller

Published Jul 1, 2012• 9 citations
Publisher

Abstract

A long-range interaction prevents two atoms from simultaneously being driven to highly excited states.
DOI
10.1063/pt.3.1627

Related papers

Single-photon source based on Rydberg exciton blockade

Mohammadsadegh Khazali, Khabat Heshami, Christoph Simon

Abstract Bound states of electron–hole pairs in semiconductors demonstrate a hydrogen-like behavior in their high-lying excited states that are also known as Rydberg exciton states. The strong interaction between excitons in levels with high principal quantum numbers prevents the creation of more than one exciton in a small crystal; resulting in the Rydberg blockade effect. Here, we propose a new kind of solid-state single-photon source based on the recently observed Rydberg blockade effect for excitons in cuprous oxide. Our quantitative estimates based on single and double excitation probability dynamics indicate that GHz rates and values of the second-order correlation function g 2 ( 0 ) below the percent level can be simultaneously achievable. These results should pave the way to explore applications of Rydberg excitons in photonic quantum information processing.

arXiv:1702.01213•Journal of Physics B Atomic Molecular and Optical Physics•Sep 19, 2017•50 citations

Progress towards the creation of an on-demand single photon source using Rydberg atoms

J. O. Day

•Jan 1, 2008•1 citation

A Rydberg Atom Blockade Based Single Photon Source

James P. Shaffer

•Aug 19, 2018•0 citations

Correlated Photon Emission from Multiatom Rydberg Dark States

Jonathan D. Pritchard, Charles S. Adams, Klaus Mølmer

We consider three-level atoms driven by two resonant light fields in a ladder scheme where the upper level is a highly excited Rydberg state. We show that the dipole-dipole interactions between Rydberg excited atoms prevents the formation of single particle dark states and leads to strongly correlated photon pairs from atoms separated by distances large compared to the emission wavelength. For a pair of atoms, this enables realization of an efficient photon-pair source with on average one pair every 30 μs.

arXiv:1108.5165•Physical Review Letters•Jan 24, 2012•33 citations

Interacting Rydberg polaritons as a single photon source

Trey Porto

Bulletin of the American Physical Society•Jun 3, 2020•0 citations

Probing the non-equilibrium dynamics and coherence properties of Rydberg-enhanced gases

Arias Suarez, Alda Lisseth

This thesis describes studies on a Rydberg-dressed ultracold atom system as a versatile platform for non-equilibrium physics research, atom-light interactions analysis and atomic sensing applications. This work includes a description of the experimental system, an ultracold potassium atom setup where we can prepare a gas of atoms in an optical dipole trap and precisely control their ground state properties. To excite the atoms to strongly-interacting Rydberg states, we set up and characterize a high-power and widely tunable excitation laser system, for driving both single and two-photon Rydberg excitations. Together this establishes a unique system for studying the effects of driving, long-range interactions and dissipation (due to the relatively short lifetime of excited states) on many-body dynamics. Using this setup we study the phase structure of a driven-dissipative system out of equilibrium , where exploiting the atom loss rate as an observable,we discover different power-laws depending on the system parameters (i.e driving,dissipation and interaction). We study further in detail a regime which shows loss rates much larger than those for single particles, and discover that due to the Rydberg population decay the system evolves to a self-organized critical state.Our key observations can be well described by effectively classical models for the many-body dynamics, which we understand as a consequence of rapid dephasing of atomic coherences. To quantify the coherence of the atom-light interactions, we realize a Rydberg dressed interferometer. This technique combines the precision of atomic clock transitions with the exaggerated properties of Rydberg atoms such as their long-range interactions and extreme response to electric fields. Using the interferometer, we are able to characterize the Rydberg-dressed ensemble, including the effects of population decay and dephasing both of which affect the coherence time. This enables us to identify power fluctuations in the excitation laser as the dominant effects limiting the coherence in the system, which will be used in the experiment for future improvements of the coherence time. As an additional application, we demonstrate that the Rydberg dressed interferometer can be used to precisely measure static electric fields down to 17 mV/cm which is comparable to state-of-the-art electrometers. These results together highlight the versatility of the Rydberg platform and pave the way towards a better understanding of long-range interacting systems out-of-equilibrium. This work paves the way to new studies of non-equilibrium phenomena and applications of many-body quantum systems which make use of both quantum coherent and dissipative interactions.

•Jan 1, 2019•0 citations
Abstract Bound states of electron–hole pairs in semiconductors demonstrate a hydrogen-like behavior in their high-lying excited states that are also known as Rydberg exciton states. The strong interaction between excitons in levels with high principal quantum numbers prevents the creation of more than one exciton in a small crystal; resulting in the Rydberg blockade effect. Here, we propose a new kind of solid-state single-photon source based on the recently observed Rydberg blockade effect for excitons in cuprous oxide. Our quantitative estimates based on single and double excitation probability dynamics indicate that GHz rates and values of the second-order correlation function g 2 ( 0 ) below the percent level can be simultaneously achievable. These results should pave the way to explore applications of Rydberg excitons in photonic quantum information processing.
We consider three-level atoms driven by two resonant light fields in a ladder scheme where the upper level is a highly excited Rydberg state. We show that the dipole-dipole interactions between Rydberg excited atoms prevents the formation of single particle dark states and leads to strongly correlated photon pairs from atoms separated by distances large compared to the emission wavelength. For a pair of atoms, this enables realization of an efficient photon-pair source with on average one pair every 30 μs.
This thesis describes studies on a Rydberg-dressed ultracold atom system as a versatile platform for non-equilibrium physics research, atom-light interactions analysis and atomic sensing applications. This work includes a description of the experimental system, an ultracold potassium atom setup where we can prepare a gas of atoms in an optical dipole trap and precisely control their ground state properties. To excite the atoms to strongly-interacting Rydberg states, we set up and characterize a high-power and widely tunable excitation laser system, for driving both single and two-photon Rydberg excitations. Together this establishes a unique system for studying the effects of driving, long-range interactions and dissipation (due to the relatively short lifetime of excited states) on many-body dynamics. Using this setup we study the phase structure of a driven-dissipative system out of equilibrium , where exploiting the atom loss rate as an observable,we discover different power-laws depending on the system parameters (i.e driving,dissipation and interaction). We study further in detail a regime which shows loss rates much larger than those for single particles, and discover that due to the Rydberg population decay the system evolves to a self-organized critical state.Our key observations can be well described by effectively classical models for the many-body dynamics, which we understand as a consequence of rapid dephasing of atomic coherences. To quantify the coherence of the atom-light interactions, we realize a Rydberg dressed interferometer. This technique combines the precision of atomic clock transitions with the exaggerated properties of Rydberg atoms such as their long-range interactions and extreme response to electric fields. Using the interferometer, we are able to characterize the Rydberg-dressed ensemble, including the effects of population decay and dephasing both of which affect the coherence time. This enables us to identify power fluctuations in the excitation laser as the dominant effects limiting the coherence in the system, which will be used in the experiment for future improvements of the coherence time. As an additional application, we demonstrate that the Rydberg dressed interferometer can be used to precisely measure static electric fields down to 17 mV/cm which is comparable to state-of-the-art electrometers. These results together highlight the versatility of the Rydberg platform and pave the way towards a better understanding of long-range interacting systems out-of-equilibrium. This work paves the way to new studies of non-equilibrium phenomena and applications of many-body quantum systems which make use of both quantum coherent and dissipative interactions.