Quantum Science and Technology
Near-maximal Bell inequality violation of time–frequency entangled photon pairs from a warm atomic vapor
Youngwoong Choi, Jinhyuk Bae, Han Seb Moon
Abstract
Abstract The realization of high-quality and stable entangled states is crucial for the advancement of quantum information science and technology. The entangled photons generated from a warm atomic ensemble exhibit high spectral purity and indistinguishability, offering significant potential for atom–photon-based quantum networks. We report high-quality time–frequency entangled continuous-wave (CW) photon pairs via a spontaneous four-wave mixing process in the cascade-type atomic transition of 5S 1/2 –5P 3/2 –5D 5/2 from a warm 87 Rb atomic ensemble. We observed Franson interference with the visibility of 99.6(8) % using two independent Franson interferometers, obtained by post-selecting the temporally indistinguishable two-photon events. The interferometer phases were actively stabilized using the reference laser frequency-locked to the 133 Cs (6S 1/2 -6P 3/2 ) transition. Beyond stabilizing the interferometers, the active control of these phases allowed us to measure the CHSH S -value directly and achieve a near-maximal Bell inequality violation with S = 2.83(7). This result demonstrates that warm atomic ensembles can serve as bright sources of time–frequency entanglement, which combined with active interferometer stabilization enable stable high-visibility operation for practical applications in quantum network.