Physical Review A

Exchange of optical vortices in symmetry-broken quantum systems

Seyyed Hossein Asadpour, Emmanuel Paspalakis, Hamid Reza Hamedi

Published Jun 7, 2021• 58 citations

Abstract

We investigate the interaction of laser pulses carrying orbital angular momentum (OAM) with a symmetry-broken ladder-type quantum coupling scheme involving three internal states. A weak probe beam acts on the lower leg of the ladder scheme, while a control beam of higher intensity drives the upper leg. In contrast to natural atoms, such a model with broken symmetry allows generating a sum-frequency signal beam between the most upper and lower quantum states, forming a cyclic closed-loop configuration of light-matter interaction. We propose situations for the efficient transfer of optical vortices to the generated signal beam via a nonlinear three-wave mixing process. It is demonstrated that the exchange process can occur both in the electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) and the Autler-Townes splitting (ATS) regimes. The transition between the EIT and ATS conversion schemes can smoothly happen by simply tuning the knob of the control field. It is shown that the ATS regime is considerably more favorable than the EIT to achieve maximum energy conversion efficiency between light beams carrying the OAM. The results may provide an applications-based perspective to the ongoing research centered on vortex conversion-based comparisons between the ATS and EIT.

DOI: 10.1103/physreva.103.063705

Related papers

Transfer of Orbital Angular Momentum of Light Using Autler-Townes Splitting

Seyyed Hossein Asadpour, Hamid Reza Hamedi, Emmanuel Paspalakis

We propose a scheme to exchange optical vortices beyond electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) but based on four-wave mixing (FWM) in a five-level atomic system consisting of two Λ subsystems linked via a weak driving field. When the laser fields are strong enough, the quantum interference responsible for the EIT in each Λ subsystem is washed out, giving rise to the Autler-Townes splitting (ATS). When only one of the control fields carries an optical vortex, it is shown that the generated FWM field obtains the vorticity of the vortex control. We distinguish between three different regimes, i.e., a pure EIT, a joint EIT-ATS, and a dual-ATS, where the optical angular momentum (OAM) translation can take place. Elaborating on the distinction between three regimes through numerical analysis, we find that the maximum energy conversion efficiency is obtained in the joint EIT-ATS and dual-ATS regimes. The latter is more favorable as the absorption losses vanish as the beam propagates into the atomic cloud. The results may find applications in the implementation of high-efficient frequency and OAM conversion devices for quantum information processing.

PhotonicsDec 9, 202214 citations

Exchange of orbital angular momentum of light via noise-induced coherence

Seyyed Hossein Asadpour, Ziauddin Ziauddin, Muqaddar Abbas +1 more

The noise-induced coherence created via the quantum interference of incoherent radiation in atomic three-level systems of V and \ensuremath{\Lambda} types driven by a pair of weak laser pulses is shown to result in exchange of optical vortices. In the three- level V-type atom-light coupling the system is populated in its ground level, while in the \ensuremath{\Lambda} model the system is initially prepared in an electromagnetically induced transparency state. By solving the quantum optical Maxwell-Bloch equations and with quantum interference of incoherent radiation present, we show that the orbital angular momentum (OAM) of the vortex probe beam can be transferred to a generated signal field. While the exchange efficiency in the V configuration is higher, the losses are less in the \ensuremath{\Lambda} scheme when we consider such a noise-induced coherence. We further discuss the effects of phase mismatching and inhomogeneous broadening on the energy conversion between light beams carrying OAM.

Physical Review AMar 16, 202240 citations

Propagation dynamics of high-gain vortex beams in symmetry-broken media via forward and backward three-wave mixing

Fan Meng, Hao Zhu, Xin-Yao Huang +1 more

In recent years, vortex light, a distinctive form of structured light, has attracted considerable attention owing to its unique properties and the rich physical phenomena arising from its interaction with matter. In this paper, we investigate the propagation dynamics of vortex beams in a symmetry-broken three-level system based on forward and backward three-wave mixing (TWM) processes. We find that both processes enable the transfer of high-gain vortex light, with the associated topological charges obeying identical algebraic relations. The forward process exhibits periodic oscillatory transmission and modulates the transverse spatial profile of the generated signal vortex field, whereas the backward process features stable transmission and produces a signal field with higher gain and improved fidelity. Under the Autler-Townes splitting (ATS) regime, the probe field detuning in both schemes has a negligible influence on the gain. Optical depth influences only the rate at which the gain approaches its maximum, while the peak value remains unchanged. These results constitute a meaningful extension of the work reported in reference [40] and may provide a feasible approach for quantum communication, quantum computation, and the generation of high-gain, high-fidelity vortex light.

quant-pharXiv:2607.19884Physica ScriptaJul 23, 20260 citations

Exchange of optical vortices using an electromagnetically-induced-transparency–based four-wave-mixing setup

Hamid Reza Hamedi, Julius Ruseckas, Gediminas Juzeliūnas

We propose a scheme to exchange optical vortices of slow light using the phenomenon of electromagnetically induced transparency in a four-level double-$\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Lambda}}$ atom-light coupling scheme illuminated by a pair of probe fields as well as two control fields of larger intensity. We study the light-matter interaction under the situation where one control field carries an optical vortex, and another control field has no vortex. We show that the orbital angular momentum (OAM) of the vortex control beam can be transferred to a generated probe field through a four-wave-mixing process and without switching on and off of the control fields. Such a mechanism of OAM transfer is much simpler than in a double-tripod scheme in which the exchange of vortices is possible only when two control fields carry optical vortices of opposite helicity. The losses appearing during such OAM exchange are then calculated. It is found that the one-photon detuning plays an important role in minimizing the losses. An approximate analytical expression is obtained for the optimal one-photon detuning for which the losses are minimum while the intensity of generated probe field is maximum. The influence of phase mismatch on the exchange of optical vortices is also investigated. We show that in presence of phase mismatch the exchange of optical vortices can still be efficient.

arXiv:1807.01685Physical Review AJul 26, 201896 citations

High-gain vortex transfer via activated forbidden transitions in molecular magnets

Fan Meng, Hao Zhu, Xin-Yao Huang +1 more

Vortex light has garnered considerable interest in recent years owing to its distinctive properties and broad application potential. In this paper, we employ a conventional three-level ladder-type configuration in molecular magnets to realize high-gain vortex light transfer by enabling otherwise forbidden transitions. We demonstrate that the intensity and phase of the generated vortex signal field are governed by the detuning of the probe field and the strength of the control field, and that the topological charges of the incident and generated fields obey a well-defined algebraic relation during the vortex transfer process. Furthermore, we show that, in molecular magnets, the Autler-Townes splitting (ATS) effect yields a larger vortex signal field gain than electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) over a broad parameter range in nonlinear three-wave mixing. This result suggests that the widely accepted view of EIT as the dominant enhancer of nonlinear optical effects may not hold universally. In addition, we revisit previous studies and re-examine the characterization of vortex beam transfer efficiency, emphasizing the need for a more careful interpretation in multi-beam interaction systems. Leveraging the long spin coherence and microwave transitions of molecular magnets, our results may enable quantum information transfer, storage, computing, and radar imaging in solid-state platforms.

physics.opticsCross-listedarXiv:2609.31134Sep 28, 20260 citations

Highly efficient three-wave mixing via vortex light in a three-level quantum system

Ali Mehdinejad

In this paper, we have discussed the enhanced three-wave mixing (TWM) nonlinear optical processing in a three-level symmetry broken three-level quantum system. The quantum system interacts with three drivel laser fields out of which two are weak probes and generated signal beams and one of them is strong coupling light. We have shown that due to symmetry broken of quantum system the nonlinear sum frequency generation leads to TWM. By adjusting the different system parameters, the efficiency of TWM mechanism can be improved. Moreover, we have found when the strong coupling light becomes optical vortex light, the efficiency of TWM depends on the orbital angular momentum (OAM) light. Our proposed model may be having useful applications in nonlinear spectroscopy based on OAM.

Modern Physics Letters BDec 30, 20221 citation