Acoustically controlled polarization states of resonant γ-photons

Abstract

Coherent control of light and its interactions with matter is a key aspect of quantum optics. Nuclear resonant interactions enable coherent manipulation of photons at X-ray and γ -ray energies. One promising approach to manipulating γ -photons emitted by radioactive sources exploits ultrasonically vibrating nuclear resonant absorbers. However, previous studies have focused on unpolarized γ -radiation interacting with isotropic resonant media without exploiting polarization effects. Here, we demonstrate simultaneous temporal control of the waveform and polarization state of γ -photons by combining ultrasonic vibrations of magnetically ordered resonant absorbers with anisotropy in nuclear resonant scattering. This method allows interlinking phase differences of individual resonant interaction paths with their polarization dependence. A particular consequence is the possibility to form double-pulse γ -radiation sequences with tunable time-dependent polarization states. Using the reported method, coherent control of γ -photons can be expanded to polarization-based experiments and related applications in quantum optics can be further explored using a tabletop γ -optical setup.