Coherent forward scattering of a single photon wave packet in a resonant medium

R. N. Shakhmuratov, Farit G. Vagizov, J. Odeurs +1 more

The propagation of a single photon wave packet in a thick resonant medium was studied theoretically and experimentally. The well-known acceleration of wave packet decay was observed upon wave packet exiting from a medium with single resonant absorption line. It was found that in a medium with two closely spaced absorption lines, the restoration of the photon wave packet is observed after the acceleration of decay.

Yu. M. Kirin, Sergey G. Rautian, А. Э. Семенов +1 more

Давид Николаевич Клышко

I. R. Khairulin, Yevgeny V. Radeonychev, Olga A. Kocharovskaya

A technique to transform the waveform of a 14.4 keV photon (time dependence of the photon detection probability or, equivalently, the intensity of the single-photon wave packet) into a regular sequence of short, nearly bandwidth-limited pulses with a controlled number of pulses is proposed. It is based on coherent forward scattering of single X-ray photons from a synchrotron Mössbauer source (SMS) in an optically thick, vibrating, recoilless 57Fe resonant absorber. The possibility of compressing the waveform of an SMS photon into a single short bell-shaped pulse is predicted. The experiment is proposed for compressing a 100 ns duration 14.4 keV single-photon wave packet produced by SMS at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) into a single bell-shaped pulse of less than 20 ns duration and more than twice the peak intensity. Such single-photon coherent pulses are promising for applications in the fast-developing field of X-ray quantum optics, including possible implementation of quantum memory.

Holger Specht, Joerg Bochmann, Melanie Mucke +4 more

Wen-Te Liao, Adriana Pálffy, Christoph H. Keitel

The coherent storage and phase modulation of x-ray single-photon wave packets in the resonant scattering of light off nuclei is theoretically investigated. We show that by switching off and on again the magnetic field in the nuclear sample, phase-sensitive storage of photons in the keV regime can be achieved. Corresponding π phase modulation of the stored photon can be accomplished if the retrieving magnetic field is rotated by 180°. The development of such x-ray single-photon control techniques is a first step towards forwarding quantum optics and quantum information to shorter wavelengths and more compact photonic devices.