arXiv:physics/0607254 · Optics Letters
Strong relative intensity squeezing by four-wave mixing in rubidium vapor
Colin F. McCormick, Vincent Boyer, E. Arimondo, Paul D. Lett
Abstract
We have measured -3.5 dB (-8.1 dB corrected for losses) relative intensity squeezing between probe and conjugate beams generated by stimulated, nondegenerate four-wave mixing in hot rubidium vapor. Unlike early observations of squeezing in atomic vapors based on saturation of a two-level system, our scheme uses a resonant nonlinearity based on ground-state coherences in a three-level system. Since this scheme produces narrowband, squeezed light near an atomic resonance, it is of interest for experiments involving cold atoms or atomic ensembles.