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Frontiers in Physics

Frequency Conversion of Optical Vortex Arrays Through Four-Wave Mixing in Hot Atomic Gases

L. A. Mendoza-López, J. G. Acosta-Montes, J. A. Bernal-Orozco, Y. M. Torres, N. Arias-Téllez, Rocío Jáuregui, Daniel Sahagún

Published Jul 11, 2022• 1 citation
Publisher

Abstract

Arrays of multiple vortices were transferred from infrared to the blue region of the optical spectrum. This demonstration was achieved by inducing four-wave mixing in an atomic gas with a Gaussian beam and a quasi-invariant propagation beam of the Mathieu type. The latter structure was analyzed in the Fourier space for the pump and the generated light. In both cases, the phase structure can be written with a compact mathematical expression by using the same parameters within experimental error bars. A Michelson–Morley interferometer was used to confirm that a phase singularity was present at each site as predicted by the theory. These studies add to the available control over orbital angular momentum in photons generated by atoms, which has a broad span of applications in quantum and classical information management.

DOI
10.3389/fphy.2022.895023

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Arrays of multiple vortices were transferred from infrared to the blue region of the optical spectrum. This demonstration was achieved by inducing four-wave mixing in an atomic gas with a Gaussian beam and a quasi-invariant propagation beam of the Mathieu type. The latter structure was analyzed in the Fourier space for the pump and the generated light. In both cases, the phase structure can be written with a compact mathematical expression by using the same parameters within experimental error bars. A Michelson–Morley interferometer was used to confirm that a phase singularity was present at each site as predicted by the theory. These studies add to the available control over orbital angular momentum in photons generated by atoms, which has a broad span of applications in quantum and classical information management.
Experimental results on the phase transfer from structured beams to parametric light, generated by inducing four-wave mixing in an atomic gas, are reported. Near-infrared, Mathieu, and Gaussian pump beams yield a blue coherent Mathieu electromagnetic field and an infrared beam. Two complementary techniques enable full characterization of the up-converted modes. The unambiguous and efficient phase heritage of these complex quasipropagation invariant modes to up-converted photons is demonstrated. The presented data enable a quantitative study of dynamical variables related to Mathieu beams. These include elliptic angular momentum, a generalization of the orbital angular momentum of light, which is also up-converted through the nonlinear process.
Airy vortex beams, which integrate orbital angular momentum with diffraction-resistant and self-accelerating characteristics of Airy beams, offer unique capabilities for high-capacity optical communication and high-resolution imaging. Here, we experimentally demonstrate the generation and manipulation of frequency-converted Airy vortex beams through four-wave mixing in hot Rb vapor. A 780 nm vortex beam and a 776 nm two-dimensional Airy beam coherently participate in the four-wave mixing process, generating a 420 nm output beam that combines the orbital angular momentum of the vortex beam with the spatial structure of the Airy beam. The generated beam exhibits pronounced quasi-nondiffracting propagation and self-acceleration, with an intensity decay rate reduced by a factor of ∼1.88 relative to the input vortex beam and a transverse acceleration ∼1.84 times that of the input Airy beam. Moreover, both the intensity and the spatial profile of the generated beam are flexibly manipulated by varying the Rb vapor temperature and the pump beam power. This work provides a versatile approach for generating and controlling structured light at what we believe are new wavelengths, opening opportunities for short-wavelength optical manipulation and optical information processing.
We propose and analyze an efficient scheme for the coherent transfer of optical vortices in a cold atomic ensemble with four-level double-$\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Lambda}}$ configuration. The orbital angular-momentum (OAM) information can be transferred from the incident vortex fields to the generated backward signal field via resonant backward four-wave mixing (FWM). Considering the single vortex probe field initially acting on one transition of the atomic ensemble and using experimentally achievable parameters, we identify the conditions under which the resonant backward FWM allows us to greatly improve the conversion efficiency of optical vortices beyond what is achievable in the resonant forward OAM transfers. It is found that the complete energy conversion of optical vortices originates from the perfect competition between linear absorption and parametric gain. We also demonstrate that the phase mismatching would be detrimental to the high-efficiency transfer of optical vortices. Furthermore, we show that the generated backward signal field develops a new pure or mixing OAM state when the control field is also a vortex beam. Finally, we investigate the composite vortex beam generated by collinear superposition of the incident vortex probe and signal fields, which can controlled via adjusting the intensity of the control field. Our scheme may have potential applications in OAM-based optical communication and optical information processing.
Abstract We have proposed a double scheme for the efficient generation and control of spatial four-wave mixing (FWM)-induced ultraviolet light via optical angular momentum transfer from a vortex-field (Laguerre–Gaussian (LG) beam) applied once to the excited transition of the first two-photon ladder and then in the uppermost transition of the three-photon ladder in the FWM-loop configuration of a five-level atomic excitation mechanism. In both the LG-cases, at the conditions of resonant and off-resonant detunings of the two coherent fields with high Rabi frequencies guiding the multi-photon excitation route in the system, it has been shown that the vortex FWM light can propagate either in the superluminal or in the subluminal regime depending upon ‘turned-off’ and ‘turned-on’ conditions of a Raman field outside the FWM-loop, respectively. Such switching phenomenon is the most interesting outcome of the present study along with the significant phase-twisting effects as manifested in the helical phase patterns in both the LG-cases. Thus, the practical implementation of the present model under a cold atomic environment paves up a novel way of obtaining structured high-dimensional light transfer process based on the mechanism of nonlinear photonics, which might have potential applications in quantum information processing and technology in the near future.
We theoretically study the generation of orbital angular momentum (OAM) based on the four-wave mixing process in a diamond-type homogeneously broadened 85 R b atomic system. We use density matrix formalism at a weak field limit to explain the origin of vortex translation between different optical fields and a generated signal. We show how the singularities, which are omnipresent in the phases of the input optical vortex beams, can be profoundly mapped to atomic coherence in the transverse plane, which holds the origin of OAM translation. This translation process works well even for a moderately intense probe and control field, which enhances medium nonlinearity. The generation and manipulation of OAM of the light beam in a nonlinear medium may have important applications in optical tweezers and quantum information processing systems.
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.