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Quantum Information and Measurement (QIM)

Storage of single photons in a highly nonlinear medium based on Rydberg atoms

María Auxiliadora Padrón-Brito, Pau Farrera, Emanuele Distante, David Paredes-Barato, Georg Heinze, Hugues de Riedmatten

Published Jan 1, 2019• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We demonstrate a medium with single-photon non-linearity based on cold Rydberg atoms, suitable for the mapping of a paired single photon. This opens the door to quantum interactions between single photons.
DOI
10.1364/qim.2019.f4c.4

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Photons are very good candidates to carry quantum information due to their negligible interactions. However, photon-photon interactions are needed to process photonic quantum information. This is very useful for quantum repeater applications [1], in which the success probability of entanglement swapping can be highly increased if the Bell-state measurement is performed deterministically. In the case of photons, it requires mapping them in a non-linear medium at the single-photon level. This strong non-linearity has been demonstrated by using Rydberg atoms, which are atoms excited to states with a high principal quantum number. However, previous experiments with Rydberg atoms have been implemented with weak coherent input states of light [2, 3]. Hence, the mapping of true single photons to a medium with strong single-photon non-linearity is, so far, an outstanding goal. In this work, we have demonstrated the storage and retrieval of a paired single photon on a highly non-linear medium based on atoms excited to Rydberg levels. More recently, we have also enhanced the non-linearity of our ensemble to the single photon-level, as witnessed by the antibunching of a stored and retrieved incoming coherent field [3]. This will allow the storage of a single photon in a medium with single-photon non-linearity.
The realization of strong nonlinear interactions between individual light quanta (photons) is a long-standing goal in optical science and engineering, being of both fundamental and technological significance. We describe and demonstrate a medium that is nonlinear at the level of individual quanta, exhibiting strong absorption and phase shift for photon pairs while remaining transparent to single photons. The quantum nonlinearity is obtained by coherently coupling slowly propagating photons to strongly interacting atomic Rydberg states in a cold, dense atomic gas. Finally, we will discuss our progress towards realization of integrated quantum photonic systems, based on deterministic coupling of individual atoms and atom-like systems to photonic crystal cavities.
Photons are good candidates for carrying quantum information because they are very stable particles: they interact weakly with the medium and barely with each other. However, this has drawbacks when you want to process the information because, in this case, it is preferable to have photon-photon interactions. For example, for applications in quantum repeaters, such interactions would allow deterministic Bell state measurements, increasing the entanglement distribution rate between two remote nodes. Getting two photons to interact with each other efficiently requires mapping them into a nonlinear medium at the single-photon level, that is, a medium that reacts differently when it interacts with a single photon than when it does with two. Such strong nonlinearity has been demonstrated with Rydberg atoms, which are atoms excited to a state with a high principal quantum number. In this thesis we have performed nonlinear quantum optics experiments using an ensemble of cold Rydberg atoms, where we have studied the properties of the quantum light emitted by these atoms. First, we demonstrated nonlinearities at the single-photon level. To reach this stage, we made several improvements to the previous experimental setup available in the group, of which the implementation of a dipole trap was especially relevant. We evidence quantum nonlinearity by measuring photon antibunching for the transmitted light after interacting with the Rydberg state under electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT). We also showed the generation of single photons on-demand after storing weak coherent states of light pulses as collective Rydberg excitations. Then, we studied the variation of the light statistic throughout the output pulse after propagating through the medium as Rydberg polaritons, which are superposition states of light and Rydberg excitations. We showed that the properties at the beginning and the end of the pulse were different from those of the steady state. In particular, the light detected after the input pulse was abruptly turned off gave much stronger suppression of two-photon events. Then, we investigated how to exploit this effect to generate single photons on demand. To do this, we analyzed the quality of the single photons detected at the end of the pulse as a function of the detection probability and compared the results with those obtained by storing the input pulse as collective Rydberg excitations. We showed that the photons were generated more efficiently when increasing the detection window at the cost of deteriorating the single photons statistics. Finally, we investigated the indistinguishability of the photons emitted by our Rydberg atomic ensemble, a crucial property for using Rydberg atoms as nodes in quantum networks. We also compared the single photons generated after storage under EIT conditions with those obtained using a two-photon Raman excitation to the Rydberg state. We measured the indistinguishability by making them interfere with weak coherent states of light in a Hong-Ou-Mandel experiment. And we showed that, although we obtained better photon statistics under EIT conditions, the indistinguishability from those obtained with Raman excitation was significantly higher.
Although photons do no a ect each other in vacuum, interactions between individual photons could enable a wide variety of scienti c and engineering applications. Here we report on the creation of a quantum nonlinear medium with large photon-photon interactions at the single photon level. Our approach relies on Electromagnetically Induced Transparency (EIT) techniques, in which individual photons are coherently mapped onto strongly interacting Rydberg atoms. Under EIT conditions, photons traveling in the medium are best described as part-matter part-light quantum particles, called polaritons, which experience long-range interactions through the Rydberg blockade. In particular, we demonstrate coherent photon-photon interactions, akin to those associated with conventional massive particles, paving the way for novel photonics states and quantum simulation with light.