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Vacuum squeezing via polarization self-rotation and excess noise in hot Rb vapors

Publisher Taylor, Eugeniy E. Mikhailov, A. Lezama, Thomas W. Noel, Irina V. Novikova, Eugeniy E. Mikhailova, Arturo Lezamab, Thomas W. Noelc, Irina Novikovaa

Published Jan 1, 2009• 15 citations
OpenAlex

Abstract

We present experimental and theoretical analysis of quantum fluctuation in a vacuum field in the presence of orthogonal linearly polarized pump field propagating through a Rb vapor cell. Previously reported theoretical and experimental studies provided somewhat contradictory conclusions regarding the possibility to observe the "squeezed vacuum" -- the reduction of vacuum fluctuations below standard quantum limit -- in this system. Here, using the D1 transitions of Rb in a cell without buffer as as an example, we demonstrate that vacuum squeezing is corrupted by incoherent processes (such as spontaneous emission, elastic scattering, etc.), and its observation is only possible in a specific small region of the experimental parameter space. Numerical simulations, in good agreement with the experiment, demonstrate that the two excited state hyperfine levels play a crucial role in the squeezing and excess noise production. The significant influence of far-detuned atoms on the field fluctuations at low noise frequencies imposes the explicit consideration of the full velocity distribution of the atomic vapor.

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We present experimental and theoretical analysis of quantum fluctuation in a vacuum field in the presence of orthogonal linearly polarized pump field propagating through a Rb vapor cell. Previously reported theoretical and experimental studies provided somewhat contradictory conclusions regarding the possibility to observe the "squeezed vacuum" -- the reduction of vacuum fluctuations below standard quantum limit -- in this system. Here, using the D1 transitions of Rb in a cell without buffer as as an example, we demonstrate that vacuum squeezing is corrupted by incoherent processes (such as spontaneous emission, elastic scattering, etc.), and its observation is only possible in a specific small region of the experimental parameter space. Numerical simulations, in good agreement with the experiment, demonstrate that the two excited state hyperfine levels play a crucial role in the squeezing and excess noise production. The significant influence of far-detuned atoms on the field fluctuations at low noise frequencies imposes the explicit consideration of the full velocity distribution of the atomic vapor.
We present experimental and theoretical analysis of quantum fluctuation in a vacuum field in the presence of an orthogonal linearly polarized pump field propagating through a Rb vapor cell. Previously reported theoretical and experimental studies provided somewhat contradictory conclusions regarding the possibility of observing the ‘squeezed vacuum’–the reduction of vacuum fluctuations below the standard quantum limit–in this system. Here, using the D1 transitions of Rb in a cell without a buffer as an example, we demonstrate that vacuum squeezing is corrupted by incoherent processes (such as spontaneous emission, elastic scattering, etc), and its observation is only possible in a specific small region of the experimental parameter space. Numerical simulations, in good agreement with the experiment, demonstrate that the two excited state hyperfine levels play a crucial role in the squeezing and excess noise production. The significant influence of far-detuned atoms on the field fluctuations at low noise frequencies imposes the explicit consideration of the full velocity distribution of the atomic vapor.
Nonclassical states of light are of increasing interest due to their applications in the emerging field of quantum information processing and communication. Squeezed light is such a state of the electromagnetic field in which the quantum noise properties are altered compared with those of coherent light. Squeezed light and squeezed vacuum states are potentially useful for quantum information protocols as well as optical measurements, where sensitivities can be limited by quantum noise. We experimentally study a source of squeezed vacuum resulting from the interaction of near-resonant light with both cold and hot Rb atoms via the nonlinear polarization self-rotation effect (PSR). We investigate the optimal conditions for noise reduction in the resulting squeezed states, reaching quadrature squeezing levels of up to 2.6 dB below shot noise, as well as observing noise reduction for a broad range of detection frequencies, from tens of kHz to several MHz. We use this source of squeezed vacuum at 795 nm to further study the noise properties of these states and how they are affected by resonant atomic interactions. This includes the use of a squeezed light probe to give a quantum enhancement to an optical magnetometer, as well as studying the propagation of squeezed vacuum in an atomic medium under conditions of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT). We also investigate the propagation of pulses of quantum squeezed light through a dispersive atomic medium, where we examine the possibilities for quantum noise signals traveling at subluminal and superluminal velocities. The interaction of squeezed light with resonant atomic vapors finds various potential applications in both quantum measurements and continuous variable quantum memories.
With our all-atomic squeezing and filtering setup, we demonstrate control over the noise amplitudes and manipulation of the frequency-dependent squeezing angle of a squeezed vacuum quantum state by passing it through an atomic medium with electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT). We generate low sideband frequency squeezed vacuum using the polarization self-rotation effect in a hot Rb vapor cell, and direct it through a second atomic vapor subject to EIT conditions. We use the frequency-dependent absorption of the EIT window to demonstrate an example of squeeze amplitude attenuation and squeeze angle rotation of the quantum noise quadratures of the squeezed probe. These studies have implications for quantum memory and storage as well as gravitational wave interferometric detectors.
Squeezed states of light, with field fluctuations smaller than the coherent state fluctuations (or shot noise), are used for improving accuracy of quantum-noise limited measurements, like the detection of gravitational waves. They are also essential resources for quantum information transfer protocols. We studied a squeezed vacuum field generated in hot Rb vapor via the polarization self-rotation effect. We studied the mode structure of the squeezed field by spatially-masking the laser beam after its interaction with the Rb atomic vapor. From analysis of the data we developed a multi-mode theory to simulate the mode composition of the squeezed vacuum field. Our experiments showed that the amount of observed squeezing may be limited by the complex mode structure due to the excitement of higher order spatial modes during the nonlinear atom-light interaction. We demonstrated that optimization of the spatial profile of the beam led to higher detected squeezing. Our studies are useful for enhancing precision metrology and quantum memory applications.
We demonstrate a possibility to control the noise spectrum of squeezed vacuum by passing it through Rb vapor under EIT conditions. For this experiment, we generate low sideband frequency (1kHz-2MHz) squeezed vacuum using polarization self-rotation. As an example, we compare the quadrature noise levels to theoretical predictions and observe ‘EIT filtering’ of the noise due to the finite width of the EIT resonance. This work may lead to the development of a low-cost compact squeezing source for applications in gravitational wave interferometers and continuous-variable quantum memory systems.
We study a squeezed vacuum field generated in hot Rb vapor via the polarization self-rotation effect. Our previous experiments showed that the amount of observed squeezing may be limited by the contamination of the squeezed vacuum output with higher-order spatial modes, also generated inside the cell. Here, we demonstrate that the squeezing can be improved by making the light interact several times with a less dense atomic ensemble. With optimization of some parameters we can achieve up to $\ensuremath{-}2.6$ dB of squeezing in the multipass case, which is a 0.6 dB improvement compared to the single-pass experimental configuration. Our results show that, other than the optical depth of the medium, the spatial mode structure and the cell configuration also affect the squeezing level.