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arXiv:quant-ph/0510165 · Physical Review A

Effect of atomic noise on optical squeezing via polarization self-rotation in a thermal vapor cell

Magnus T. L. Hsu, Gabriel Hetet, Amy Peng, C. C. Harb, Hans‐A. Bachor, Mattias Johnsson, J. J. Hope, Ping Koy Lam, Aurélien Dantan, J. Cviklinski, Alberto Bramati, M. Pinard

Published Feb 7, 2006• 40 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

The traversal of an elliptically polarized optical field through a thermal vapor cell can give rise to a rotation of its polarization axis. This process, known as polarization self-rotation (PSR), has been suggested as a mechanism for producing squeezed light at atomic transition wavelengths. We show results of the characterization of PSR in isotopically enhanced rubidium-87 cells, performed in two independent laboratories. We observed that, contrary to earlier work, the presence of atomic noise in the thermal vapor overwhelms the observation of squeezing. We present a theory that contains atomic noise terms and show that a null result in squeezing is consistent with this theory.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.73.023806

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The traversal of an elliptically polarized optical field through a thermal vapor cell can give rise to a rotation of its polarization axis. This process, known as polarization self-rotation (PSR), has been suggested as a mechanism for producing squeezed light at atomic transition wavelengths. We show results of the characterization of PSR in isotopically enhanced rubidium-87 cells, performed in two independent laboratories. We observed that, contrary to earlier work, the presence of atomic noise in the thermal vapor overwhelms the observation of squeezing. We present a theory that contains atomic noise terms and show that a null result in squeezing is consistent with this theory.
Nonclassical states of light are of increasing interest due to their applications in the emerging field of quantum information processing and communication. Squeezed light is such a state of the electromagnetic field in which the quantum noise properties are altered compared with those of coherent light. Squeezed light and squeezed vacuum states are potentially useful for quantum information protocols as well as optical measurements, where sensitivities can be limited by quantum noise. We experimentally study a source of squeezed vacuum resulting from the interaction of near-resonant light with both cold and hot Rb atoms via the nonlinear polarization self-rotation effect (PSR). We investigate the optimal conditions for noise reduction in the resulting squeezed states, reaching quadrature squeezing levels of up to 2.6 dB below shot noise, as well as observing noise reduction for a broad range of detection frequencies, from tens of kHz to several MHz. We use this source of squeezed vacuum at 795 nm to further study the noise properties of these states and how they are affected by resonant atomic interactions. This includes the use of a squeezed light probe to give a quantum enhancement to an optical magnetometer, as well as studying the propagation of squeezed vacuum in an atomic medium under conditions of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT). We also investigate the propagation of pulses of quantum squeezed light through a dispersive atomic medium, where we examine the possibilities for quantum noise signals traveling at subluminal and superluminal velocities. The interaction of squeezed light with resonant atomic vapors finds various potential applications in both quantum measurements and continuous variable quantum memories.
High precision optical detection is fundamentally limited by quantum noise. This limit can be bypassed with the use of squeezed states of light with modified quantum noise. We study squeezed states of light with a focus on optimization of squeezing generated via polarization self-rotation (PSR) in hot rubidium vapor. The goal of our research is to reduce quantum noise by optimizing cell temperature and beam shape of the input pump field. We find that computerized spatial optimization algorithms (combined with manual optimization of temperature and laser detuning) are successful in improving squeezing levels, with one spatial mask yielding over 1.0 dB of squeezing improvement under certain conditions. We have achieved quantum noise suppression of 2.3 ± 0.1 dB below shot noise.
In this paper, we report on -3.5±0.2 dB vacuum squeezing (corresponding to -4.2±0.2 dB with loss correction) at 795 nm via the polarization self-rotation (PSR) effect in rubidium vapor by applying a magnetic field, whose direction is perpendicular to the propagation and polarization of the pump light. Compared with the case without the magnetic field, whose optimal squeezing degree is about -1.5 dB, this weak magnetic field can enhance the PSR effect and ultimately increase the squeezing degree. This compact squeezed light source can be potentially utilized in quantum protocols in which atomic ensembles are involved, such as in quantum memory, atomic magnetometers and quantum interferometers.
We observed squeezed vacuum light at 795 nm in 87 Rb vapor via resonant polarization self-rotation, and report noise sidebands suppression of ≈ 1 dB below shot noise level spanning from acoustic (30 kHz) to MHz frequencies. This is the first demonstration of sub-MHz quadrature vacuum squeezing in atomic systems. The spectral range of observed squeezing matches well typical bandwidths of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) resonances, making this simple technique for generation of optical fields with non-classical statistics at atomic transitions wavelengths attractive for EIT-based quantum information protocols applications.
We present experimental and theoretical analysis of quantum fluctuation in a vacuum field in the presence of an orthogonal linearly polarized pump field propagating through a Rb vapor cell. Previously reported theoretical and experimental studies provided somewhat contradictory conclusions regarding the possibility of observing the ‘squeezed vacuum’–the reduction of vacuum fluctuations below the standard quantum limit–in this system. Here, using the D1 transitions of Rb in a cell without a buffer as an example, we demonstrate that vacuum squeezing is corrupted by incoherent processes (such as spontaneous emission, elastic scattering, etc), and its observation is only possible in a specific small region of the experimental parameter space. Numerical simulations, in good agreement with the experiment, demonstrate that the two excited state hyperfine levels play a crucial role in the squeezing and excess noise production. The significant influence of far-detuned atoms on the field fluctuations at low noise frequencies imposes the explicit consideration of the full velocity distribution of the atomic vapor.
We observed squeezed vacuum light at 795 nm in (87)Rb vapor via resonant polarization self-rotation and report noise sidebands suppression of approximately 1 dB below shot-noise level spanning from 30 kHz to 1.2 MHz frequencies. To our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of submegahertz quadrature vacuum squeezing in atomic systems. The spectral range of observed squeezing matches well typical bandwidths of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) resonances, making this simple technique for generation of optical fields with nonclassical statistics at atomic transitions wavelengths attractive for EIT-based quantum information protocols applications.