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Physical Review Letters

Measuring the Optical Concurrence of Vector Beams with an Atomic-State Interferometer

Jinwen Wang, Sphinx J. Svensson, Thomas W. Clark, Yun Chen, Mustafa A. Al Khafaji, Hong Gao, Niclas Westerberg, Sonja Franke‐Arnold

Published May 9, 2024• 19 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We investigate the transmission of vector beams, correlated in their polarization and spatial degrees of freedom, through cold atoms in the presence of a transverse magnetic coupling field. The resulting phase-dependent dynamics allow us to imprint the spatially varying polarization of a vector beam onto atomic spin polarizations, thereby establishing a direct link between optical space-polarization correlations and atomic-state interference. We find that the resulting absorption profiles show interference fringes whose modulation strength is given by the squared concurrence of the vector beam, letting us identify optical concurrence from a single absorption image. We expect impact across a diverse range of applications, including spintronics, quantum memories, metrology, and clocks.

DOI
10.1103/physrevlett.132.193803

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The interaction between cylindrical vector beams and atoms under a weak magnetic field induces spatially dependent electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT). Based on this coherence effect, we investigated the relationship between the magnitude and orientation of the transverse magnetic field (TMF) and the spatial intensity distribution of cylindrical vector beams passing through a thermal atom ensemble, which is intuitively manifested in polarization selection absorption. The radially polarized beam exhibits a spatial axisymmetric polarization structure. When a TMF is applied, transparent regions in the transmitted beam strongly correlate with the beam’s polarization distribution. Variations in the TMF magnitude alter the absorption of specific polarization components by the atomic system, thereby affecting the local transmittance. This enables the TMF magnitude to be inferred from the single transmittance of the intensity pattern. The alignment of the TMF orientation is reflected in the rotation of the petal-shaped transmission patterns aligned with the mirror axis. Theoretical solutions using optical Bloch equations reveal this specific spatially dependent EIT is closely related to the transverse relaxation rate between the ground state energy levels. Experimental data align perfectly with the theoretical results, suggesting potential applications in light field manipulation and magnetic field measurement.
In recent years, vector beams (VBs) with spatially varying polarization profiles have been used in many fields. Here we study the transmission properties of a hybrid VB passing through atomic vapor. We observe a four-petal pattern which is induced by the rapid transport of atomic coherence. This intensity distribution can be modified by coherence attenuation and absorption enhancement controlled by an external magnetic field. A second experiment with orthogonal circularly polarized states shows that the quantum coherence can be induced by two spatially separated laser beams and support our interpretation of our results for the hybrid VB experiment. Our results may have applications in optical manipulation, the measurement of magnetic fields, and the study of quantum coherence in atomic ensembles.
We describe and demonstrate how 3D magnetic field alignment can be inferred from single absorption images of an atomic cloud. While optically pumped magnetometers conventionally rely on temporal measurement of the Larmor precession of atomic dipoles, here a cold atomic vapor provides a spatial interface between vector light and external magnetic fields. Using a vector vortex beam, we inscribe structured atomic spin polarization in a cloud of cold rubidium atoms and record images of the resulting absorption patterns. The polar angle of an external magnetic field can then be deduced with spatial Fourier analysis. This effect presents an alternative concept for detecting magnetic vector fields and demonstrates, more generally, how introducing spatial phases between atomic energy levels can translate transient effects to the spatial domain.
We demonstrate the use of cylindrical vector beams - beams with spatially varying polarization - for detecting and preparing the spin of a warm rubidium vapor in a spatially dependent manner. We show that a modified probe vector beam can serve as an atomic spin analyzer for an optically pumped medium, which spatially modulates absorption of the beam. We also demonstrate space-variant atomic spin by optical pumping with the vector beams. The beams are thus beneficial for making single-shot polarization-dependent measurements, as well as for providing a means of preparing samples with position-dependent spin.
Abstract The interaction between vector beams and atoms under a weak magnetic field could induce spatially dependent electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT). Based on such a coherence effect, we propose a method for manipulating vector beams carrying spiral varying phases in hot rubidium atoms. When a transverse magnetic field (TMF) is applied, the transparent regions of the transmitted beam are strongly depend on the beam’s polarization distribution. In addition to the intensity modulation, the alignment of the TMF is reflected in the rotation of the central symmetric transmission patterns. In theory, we discuss the physical mechanism of the spiral EIT region generated by the phase profile, and analyze the influence of system parameters on this coherent process. Our work confirms that introducing additional radial phases can also lead to spatially dependent EIT, which extends another degree of freedom to manipulate atomic polarization. This will provide potential applications in light field manipulation and multi-dimensional quantum storage.