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How to Trap Photons? Storing Single-Photon Quantum States in Collective Atomic Excitations

Fleischhauer, M, Yelin, S F, Mikhail D. Lukin

Published Jan 1, 1999• 104 citations
OpenAlex

Abstract

We show that it is possible to "store" quantum states of single-photon fields by mapping them onto collective meta-stable states of an optically dense, coherently driven medium inside an optical resonator. An adiabatic technique is suggested which allows to transfer non-classical correlations from traveling-wave single-photon wave-packets into atomic states and vise versa with nearly 100% efficiency. In contrast to previous approaches involving single atoms, the present technique does not require the strong coupling regime corresponding to high-Q micro-cavities. Instead, intracavity Electromagnetically Induced Transparency is used to achieve a strong coupling between the cavity mode and the atoms.

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Quantum optics with trapped photon states: coherent memory for light

Mikhail D. Lukin, Michael Fleischhauer, Susanne F. Yelin +7 more

Summary form only given. We describe a technique that allows one to transfer quantum correlations from traveling-wave light fields to collective atomic states and vice versa with nearly ideal efficiency. This is achieved by adiabatically reducing the group velocity of light to zero, thereby "trapping" the photons in the medium.

Quantum Electronics and Laser Science Conference•Nov 13, 2002•0 citations

STUDY OF STORAGE AND RETRIEVAL OF SINGLE-PHOTON QUANTUM STATE IN A COLLECTIVE ATOMIC EXCITATIONS

I.I. BABAYO, A.M LIMAN, A. B. Ahmed

In this article, the probe pulse (that is, of single-photon quantum states) which can be stored in longlive cavity dark state is investigated. The transfer of the single photon state to the collective cavitydark state can be accomplished with nearly a hundred percent efficiently by the method ofintracavity EIT and assumption of quantum impedance matching condition whereby the classicaldriving field is adiabatically switched off while the probe laser is inside the dense ensemble of atomsand cos θ is optimized for any input pulse respectively is clearly described. It is noted that, thismethod of using an optically-dense many-atom medium is far superior and efficient than the techniquewith single atoms processed in the strong coupling system.

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STUDY OF STORAGE AND RETRIEVAL OF SINGLE-PHOTON QUANTUM STATE IN A COLLECTIVE ATOMIC EXCITATIONS

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In this article, the probe pulse (that is, of single-photon quantum states) which can be stored in longlive cavity dark state is investigated. The transfer of the single photon state to the collective cavitydark state can be accomplished with nearly a hundred percent efficiently by the method ofintracavity EIT and assumption of quantum impedance matching condition whereby the classicaldriving field is adiabatically switched off while the probe laser is inside the dense ensemble of atomsand cos θ is optimized for any input pulse respectively is clearly described. It is noted that, thismethod of using an optically-dense many-atom medium is far superior and efficient than the techniquewith single atoms processed in the strong coupling system.

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Interfacing Collective Atomic Excitations and Single Photons

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We study the performance and limitations of a coherent interface between collective atomic states and single photons. A quantized spin-wave excitation of an atomic sample inside an optical resonator is prepared probabilistically, stored, and adiabatically converted on demand into a sub-Poissonian photonic excitation of the resonator mode. The measured peak single-quantum conversion efficiency of chi=0.84(11) and its dependence on various parameters are well described by a simple model of the mode geometry and multilevel atomic structure, pointing the way towards implementing high-performance stationary single-photon sources.

arXiv:physics/0702013•Physical Review Letters•May 3, 2007•174 citations

Optimal storage of a single photon by a single intra-cavity atom

Luigi Giannelli, Tom Schmit, Tommaso Calarco +3 more

We theoretically analyze the efficiency of a quantum memory for single photons. The photons propagate along a transmission line and impinge on one of the mirrors of a high-finesse cavity. The quantum memory is constituted by a single atom within the optical resonator. Photon storage is realized by the controlled transfer of the photonic excitation into a metastable state of the atom and occurs via a Raman transition with a suitably tailored laser pulse, which drives the atom. Our study is supported by numerical simulations, in which we include the modes of the transmission line and we use the experimental parameters of existing experimental setups. It reproduces the results derived using input–output theory in the corresponding regimes and can be extended to compute dynamics where the input–output formalism cannot be straightforwardly applied. Our analysis determines the maximal storage efficiency, namely, the maximal probability to store the photon in a stable atomic excitation, in the presence of spontaneous decay and cavity parasitic losses. It further delivers the form of the laser pulse that achieves the maximal efficiency by partially compensating parasitic losses. We numerically assess the conditions under which storage based on adiabatic dynamics is preferable to non-adiabatic pulses. Moreover, we systematically determine the shortest photon pulse that can be efficiently stored as a function of the system parameters.

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Trapping of single atoms with single photons in cavity QED

Andrew C. Doherty, T. W. Lynn, Christina J. Hood +1 more

Two recent experiments have reported the trapping of individual atoms inside optical resonators by the mechanical forces associated with single photons [Hood et al., Science 287, 1447 (2000); Pinkse et al., Nature (London) 404, 365 (2000)]. Here we analyze the trapping dynamics in these settings, focusing on two points of interest. First, we investigate the extent to which light-induced forces in these experiments are distinct from their free-space counterparts, and whether or not there are qualitatively different effects of optical forces at the single-photon level within the setting of cavity QED. Second, we explore the quantitative features of the resulting atomic motion, and how these dynamics are mapped onto experimentally observable variations of the intracavity field. Toward these ends, we present results from extensive numerical simulations of the relevant forces and their fluctuations, as well as a detailed derivation of our numerical simulation method, based on the full quantum-mechanical master equation. Not surprisingly, qualitatively distinct atomic dynamics arise as the coupling and dissipative rates are varied. For the experiment of Hood et al., we show that atomic motion is largely conservative and is predominantly in radial orbits transverse to the cavity axis. A comparison with the free-space theory demonstrates that the fluctuations of the dipole force are suppressed by an order of magnitude. This effect is based upon the Jaynes-Cummings eigenstates of the atom-cavity system and represents distinct physics for optical forces at the single-photon level within the context of cavity QED. By contrast, even in a regime of strong coupling in the experiment of Pinkse et al., there are only small quantitative distinctions between the potentials and heating rates in the free-space theory and the quantum theory, so it is not clear that a description of this experiment as a novel single-quantum trapping effect is necessary. The atomic motion is strongly diffusive, leading to an average localization time comparable to the time for an atom to transit freely through the cavity, and to a reduction in the ability to infer aspects of the atomic motion from the intracavity photon number.

arXiv:quant-ph/0006015•Physical Review A•Nov 27, 2000•83 citations
We show that it is possible to "store" quantum states of single-photon fields by mapping them onto collective meta-stable states of an optically dense, coherently driven medium inside an optical resonator. An adiabatic technique is suggested which allows to transfer non-classical correlations from traveling-wave single-photon wave-packets into atomic states and vise versa with nearly 100% efficiency. In contrast to previous approaches involving single atoms, the present technique does not require the strong coupling regime corresponding to high-Q micro-cavities. Instead, intracavity Electromagnetically Induced Transparency is used to achieve a strong coupling between the cavity mode and the atoms.
In this article, the probe pulse (that is, of single-photon quantum states) which can be stored in longlive cavity dark state is investigated. The transfer of the single photon state to the collective cavitydark state can be accomplished with nearly a hundred percent efficiently by the method ofintracavity EIT and assumption of quantum impedance matching condition whereby the classicaldriving field is adiabatically switched off while the probe laser is inside the dense ensemble of atomsand cos θ is optimized for any input pulse respectively is clearly described. It is noted that, thismethod of using an optically-dense many-atom medium is far superior and efficient than the techniquewith single atoms processed in the strong coupling system.
In this article, the probe pulse (that is, of single-photon quantum states) which can be stored in longlive cavity dark state is investigated. The transfer of the single photon state to the collective cavitydark state can be accomplished with nearly a hundred percent efficiently by the method ofintracavity EIT and assumption of quantum impedance matching condition whereby the classicaldriving field is adiabatically switched off while the probe laser is inside the dense ensemble of atomsand cos θ is optimized for any input pulse respectively is clearly described. It is noted that, thismethod of using an optically-dense many-atom medium is far superior and efficient than the techniquewith single atoms processed in the strong coupling system.
We study the performance and limitations of a coherent interface between collective atomic states and single photons. A quantized spin-wave excitation of an atomic sample inside an optical resonator is prepared probabilistically, stored, and adiabatically converted on demand into a sub-Poissonian photonic excitation of the resonator mode. The measured peak single-quantum conversion efficiency of chi=0.84(11) and its dependence on various parameters are well described by a simple model of the mode geometry and multilevel atomic structure, pointing the way towards implementing high-performance stationary single-photon sources.
We theoretically analyze the efficiency of a quantum memory for single photons. The photons propagate along a transmission line and impinge on one of the mirrors of a high-finesse cavity. The quantum memory is constituted by a single atom within the optical resonator. Photon storage is realized by the controlled transfer of the photonic excitation into a metastable state of the atom and occurs via a Raman transition with a suitably tailored laser pulse, which drives the atom. Our study is supported by numerical simulations, in which we include the modes of the transmission line and we use the experimental parameters of existing experimental setups. It reproduces the results derived using input–output theory in the corresponding regimes and can be extended to compute dynamics where the input–output formalism cannot be straightforwardly applied. Our analysis determines the maximal storage efficiency, namely, the maximal probability to store the photon in a stable atomic excitation, in the presence of spontaneous decay and cavity parasitic losses. It further delivers the form of the laser pulse that achieves the maximal efficiency by partially compensating parasitic losses. We numerically assess the conditions under which storage based on adiabatic dynamics is preferable to non-adiabatic pulses. Moreover, we systematically determine the shortest photon pulse that can be efficiently stored as a function of the system parameters.
Two recent experiments have reported the trapping of individual atoms inside optical resonators by the mechanical forces associated with single photons [Hood et al., Science 287, 1447 (2000); Pinkse et al., Nature (London) 404, 365 (2000)]. Here we analyze the trapping dynamics in these settings, focusing on two points of interest. First, we investigate the extent to which light-induced forces in these experiments are distinct from their free-space counterparts, and whether or not there are qualitatively different effects of optical forces at the single-photon level within the setting of cavity QED. Second, we explore the quantitative features of the resulting atomic motion, and how these dynamics are mapped onto experimentally observable variations of the intracavity field. Toward these ends, we present results from extensive numerical simulations of the relevant forces and their fluctuations, as well as a detailed derivation of our numerical simulation method, based on the full quantum-mechanical master equation. Not surprisingly, qualitatively distinct atomic dynamics arise as the coupling and dissipative rates are varied. For the experiment of Hood et al., we show that atomic motion is largely conservative and is predominantly in radial orbits transverse to the cavity axis. A comparison with the free-space theory demonstrates that the fluctuations of the dipole force are suppressed by an order of magnitude. This effect is based upon the Jaynes-Cummings eigenstates of the atom-cavity system and represents distinct physics for optical forces at the single-photon level within the context of cavity QED. By contrast, even in a regime of strong coupling in the experiment of Pinkse et al., there are only small quantitative distinctions between the potentials and heating rates in the free-space theory and the quantum theory, so it is not clear that a description of this experiment as a novel single-quantum trapping effect is necessary. The atomic motion is strongly diffusive, leading to an average localization time comparable to the time for an atom to transit freely through the cavity, and to a reduction in the ability to infer aspects of the atomic motion from the intracavity photon number.