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

Engineering Atomic and Optical Quantum States using Four-Wave Mixing

Travis Brannan

Published Jan 1, 2014• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

This thesis presents a study of the four-wave mixing process in hot Rubidium vapor and its applicability to generating arbitrary quantum states, both in the optical domain and as atomic collective spin excitations. The four-wave mixing process involves a double Raman scattering event, where conservation of energy and momentum entangle these Raman-scattered photons. Heralding upon detection of one of these photons in a given mode projects the other photon onto a single photon Fock state in a well-defined mode, which may serve as a narrowband quantum light source that is compatible with atom-based quantum communication protocols. We integrate the existing technique of conditional measurements into our detection scheme, which allows us to engineer more complex quantum states. Experimentally we demonstrate the production of arbitrary superpositions of |0> and |1> in the optical Fock basis. We also present a theoretical model of this process which incorporates experimental complications such as losses, higher photon-number states, and a non-trivial temporal mode. This scheme can be extended to generate arbitrary quantum states with increasing photon numbers, at the expense of repetition rate. The atomic nature of this four-wave mixing process has an added benefit in that it allows access to excitations of the collective atomic ensemble. The optical results demonstrate the creation of transient collective spin excitations, and we present a proposal to extend this work to generate longer lived arbitrary collective atomic states.

DOI
10.11575/prism/25894

Related papers

An Atomic Source of Quantum Light

Andrew MacRae

This thesis presents the experimental demonstration of an atomic source of narrowband nonclassical states of light. Employing four-wave mixing in hot atomic Rubidium vapour, the optical states produced are naturally compatible with atomic transitions and may be thus employed in atom-based quantum communication protocols. We first demonstrate the production of two-mode intensity-squeezed light and analyze the correlations between the two produced modes. Using homodyne detection in each mode, we verify the production of two-mode quadrature-squeezed light, achieving a reduction in quadrature variance of 3 dB below the standard quantum limit. Employing conditional detection on one of the channels, we then demonstrate the generation of single-photon Fock states as well as controllable superpositions of vacuum and 1-photon states. We fully characterize the produced light by means of optical homodyne tomography and maximum likelihood estimation. The narrowband nature of the produced light yields a resolvable temporal wave-function, and we develop a method to infer this wave function from the continuous photocurrent provided by the homodyne detector. The nature of the atomic process opens the door to a new direction of research: generation of arbitrary superpositions of collective atomic states. We perform the first proof-of-principle experiment towards this new field and discuss a proposal for extending this work to obtain full control over the collective-atomic Hilbert space.

•Jan 1, 2012•3 citations

Generation and tomography of arbitrary optical qubits using transient collective atomic excitations

Travis Brannan, Zhongzhong Qin, Andrew MacRae +1 more

We demonstrate the preparation of heralded Fock-basis qubits (a|0〉+b|1〉) from transient collective spin excitations in a hot atomic vapor. The preparation event is heralded by Raman-scattered photons in a four-wave mixing process seeded by a weak coherent optical excitation. The amplitude and phase of the seed field allow arbitrary control over the qubit coefficients. The qubit state is characterized using balanced homodyne tomography.

arXiv:1403.3463•Optics Letters•Sep 11, 2014•12 citations

Development Of Quantum Information Tools Based On Multi-Photon Raman Processes In Rb Vapor

Nikunjkumar Prajapati

Multi-photon nonlinear processes in atoms have served as important tools for quantum metrology, quantum communications, and quantum sensing. In this thesis, we experimentally address the interplay of various multi-photon Raman processes in hot Rb vapor, with the four-wave mixing (FWM) process being a central theme. FWM is the nonlinear response of a medium to a strong optical pump field inelastically scattering off atomic resonances and resulting in the generation of additional photons in different modes. FWM is a detrimental, but inherent part of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) and Raman based quantum memories. However, we were able to weaken the four-photon resonance by utilizing two-photon absorption to remove the additional photons without interfering with the signal beam. We also demonstrate the ability to tailor FWM to generate new photons in a controlled fashion for mode conversion. With this, we showed the conversion of 795 nm light to 420 nm light. While FWM is a source of noise in quantum memories, it can also be used for the generation squeezed twin-beams. Such beams have relative intensity noise reduced below the classical shot noise limit and share mode dependence based on the phase-matching conditions. Using this, we demonstrated that twin-beams can be generated with largely different spatial structure (optical angular momentum) and still share strong correlations, so long as the phase-matching conditions are satisfied. We then constructed and demonstrated the operation of a polarization-based quantum interferometer using squeezed twin-beams and showed that our beams were entangled under the inseparability condition. Using this interferometer, we were also able to achieve squeezing at low detection frequencies, which is necessary for things like quantum imaging and gravitational wave detection. We also demonstrated that squeezed twin-beams can be utilized to enhance the sensitivity of two-photon absorption spectroscopy. This research has touched on many different subjects related to quantum information science and improved upon some of the tools needed for the implementation of such technologies.

•Mar 22, 2021•0 citations

Quantum state entanglement and readout of collective atomic-ensemble modes and optical wave packets by stimulated Raman scattering

M. G. Raymer

A proposal is made for the creation of macroscopic quantum states of collective atomic-ensemble variables by the use of stimulated Raman scattering (SRS), followed by conditional optical measurement. After the completion of the SRS process, one is able to reverse the process and to return all the atoms to their ground states in such a way that reads out an arbitrary quantum state of the collective atomic field and writes this state onto the outgoing optical field. This scheme can be used for the creation of entanglement between two distant atomic ensembles. The quantum analysis of the SRS process treats one-dimensional spatial-temporal propagation accurately. Remarkably, it is found that this multimode problem can be simplified to a two-mode problem involving spatial-temporal wave-packet modes of the optical and atomic collective fields. This improves the understanding of the entanglement created in this system.

Journal of Modern Optics•Jun 18, 2004•40 citations

Narrowband Photons From an Atomic Source

Andrew MacRae, Travis Brannan, Alexander I. Lvovsky

We demonstrate the efficient generation of narrow-bandwidth photons and photon superposition states. Since the heralded states stem from a transient collective spin excitation in the atomic ensemble, this work allows engineering of arbitrary collective atomic excitation states.

Frontiers in Optics•Jan 1, 2012•0 citations

Experimental Generation of Multiple Quantum Correlated Beams from Hot Rubidium Vapor

Zhongzhong Qin, Leiming Cao, Hailong Wang +3 more

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.

arXiv:1407.3863•Physical Review Letters•Jul 10, 2014•193 citations
This thesis presents a study of the four-wave mixing process in hot Rubidium vapor and its applicability to generating arbitrary quantum states, both in the optical domain and as atomic collective spin excitations. The four-wave mixing process involves a double Raman scattering event, where conservation of energy and momentum entangle these Raman-scattered photons. Heralding upon detection of one of these photons in a given mode projects the other photon onto a single photon Fock state in a well-defined mode, which may serve as a narrowband quantum light source that is compatible with atom-based quantum communication protocols. We integrate the existing technique of conditional measurements into our detection scheme, which allows us to engineer more complex quantum states. Experimentally we demonstrate the production of arbitrary superpositions of |0> and |1> in the optical Fock basis. We also present a theoretical model of this process which incorporates experimental complications such as losses, higher photon-number states, and a non-trivial temporal mode. This scheme can be extended to generate arbitrary quantum states with increasing photon numbers, at the expense of repetition rate. The atomic nature of this four-wave mixing process has an added benefit in that it allows access to excitations of the collective atomic ensemble. The optical results demonstrate the creation of transient collective spin excitations, and we present a proposal to extend this work to generate longer lived arbitrary collective atomic states.
This thesis presents the experimental demonstration of an atomic source of narrowband nonclassical states of light. Employing four-wave mixing in hot atomic Rubidium vapour, the optical states produced are naturally compatible with atomic transitions and may be thus employed in atom-based quantum communication protocols. We first demonstrate the production of two-mode intensity-squeezed light and analyze the correlations between the two produced modes. Using homodyne detection in each mode, we verify the production of two-mode quadrature-squeezed light, achieving a reduction in quadrature variance of 3 dB below the standard quantum limit. Employing conditional detection on one of the channels, we then demonstrate the generation of single-photon Fock states as well as controllable superpositions of vacuum and 1-photon states. We fully characterize the produced light by means of optical homodyne tomography and maximum likelihood estimation. The narrowband nature of the produced light yields a resolvable temporal wave-function, and we develop a method to infer this wave function from the continuous photocurrent provided by the homodyne detector. The nature of the atomic process opens the door to a new direction of research: generation of arbitrary superpositions of collective atomic states. We perform the first proof-of-principle experiment towards this new field and discuss a proposal for extending this work to obtain full control over the collective-atomic Hilbert space.
Multi-photon nonlinear processes in atoms have served as important tools for quantum metrology, quantum communications, and quantum sensing. In this thesis, we experimentally address the interplay of various multi-photon Raman processes in hot Rb vapor, with the four-wave mixing (FWM) process being a central theme. FWM is the nonlinear response of a medium to a strong optical pump field inelastically scattering off atomic resonances and resulting in the generation of additional photons in different modes. FWM is a detrimental, but inherent part of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) and Raman based quantum memories. However, we were able to weaken the four-photon resonance by utilizing two-photon absorption to remove the additional photons without interfering with the signal beam. We also demonstrate the ability to tailor FWM to generate new photons in a controlled fashion for mode conversion. With this, we showed the conversion of 795 nm light to 420 nm light. While FWM is a source of noise in quantum memories, it can also be used for the generation squeezed twin-beams. Such beams have relative intensity noise reduced below the classical shot noise limit and share mode dependence based on the phase-matching conditions. Using this, we demonstrated that twin-beams can be generated with largely different spatial structure (optical angular momentum) and still share strong correlations, so long as the phase-matching conditions are satisfied. We then constructed and demonstrated the operation of a polarization-based quantum interferometer using squeezed twin-beams and showed that our beams were entangled under the inseparability condition. Using this interferometer, we were also able to achieve squeezing at low detection frequencies, which is necessary for things like quantum imaging and gravitational wave detection. We also demonstrated that squeezed twin-beams can be utilized to enhance the sensitivity of two-photon absorption spectroscopy. This research has touched on many different subjects related to quantum information science and improved upon some of the tools needed for the implementation of such technologies.
A proposal is made for the creation of macroscopic quantum states of collective atomic-ensemble variables by the use of stimulated Raman scattering (SRS), followed by conditional optical measurement. After the completion of the SRS process, one is able to reverse the process and to return all the atoms to their ground states in such a way that reads out an arbitrary quantum state of the collective atomic field and writes this state onto the outgoing optical field. This scheme can be used for the creation of entanglement between two distant atomic ensembles. The quantum analysis of the SRS process treats one-dimensional spatial-temporal propagation accurately. Remarkably, it is found that this multimode problem can be simplified to a two-mode problem involving spatial-temporal wave-packet modes of the optical and atomic collective fields. This improves the understanding of the entanglement created in this system.
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.