Interference of multimode photon echoes generated in spatially separated solid-state atomic ensembles

High-visibility interference of photon echoes generated in spatially separated solid-state atomic ensembles is demonstrated. The solid-state ensembles were LiNbO(3) waveguides doped with erbium ions absorbing at 1.53 microm. Bright coherent states of light in several temporal modes (up to 3) are stored and retrieved from the optical memories using two-pulse photon echoes. The stored and retrieved optical pulses, when combined at a beam splitter, show almost perfect interference, which demonstrates both phase preserving storage and indistinguishability of photon echoes from separate optical memories. By measuring interference fringes for different storage times, we also show explicitly that the visibility is not limited by atomic decoherence. These results are relevant for novel quantum-repeater architectures with photon-echo based multimode quantum memories.     

Entanglement of atomic ensembles by trapping correlated photon states

We describe a general technique that allows for an ideal transfer of quantum correlations between light fields and metastable states of matter. The technique is based on trapping quantum states of photons in coherently driven atomic media, in which the group velocity is adiabatically reduced to zero. We discuss possible applications such as quantum state memories, generation of squeezed atomic states, preparation of entangled atomic ensembles, quantum information processing, and quantum networking.     

Single-photon-level quantum memory at room temperature

Room-temperature, easy-to-operate quantum memories are essential building blocks for future long distance quantum information networks operating on an intercontinental scale, because devices like quantum repeaters, based on quantum memories, will have to be deployed in potentially remote, inaccessible locations. Here we demonstrate controllable, broadband and efficient storage and retrieval of weak coherent light pulses at the single-photon level in warm atomic cesium vapor using the robust far off-resonant Raman memory scheme. We show that the unconditional noise floor of this technically simple quantum memory is low enough to operate in the quantum regime, even in a room-temperature environment.     

Autler-Townes triplet spectroscopy

We study the effects of quantum interference in the spontaneous emission spectrum of a four-level driven atomic system. We use three strong laser fields to drive the atom and a weak laser field to prepare the initial state of the atom. The atomic system exhibits Autler-Townes triplet in the spectrum. The single Lorentzian peak splits into triplet and their widths are controlled by the relative strengths of the laser fields.     

Modifying spontaneous emission via interferences from incoherent pump fields

The spontaneous emission spectrum is evaluated from the doublet of a 4-level atomic system. Excitation from the ground state of the closed system is supplied solely by two incoherent pump fields with one involving the doublet states; i.e., no laser fields are involved at any stage of the problem. We find that the interference which arises due to the incoherent pump field induces substantial modifications of the spontaneous emission spectrum. In particular, the occurrence of a narrow spectral feature is shown to be quite sensitive to the incoherent pump-induced interference.     

Inhibition of Two-Photon Absorption in a Four-Level Atomic System with Closed-Loop Configuration

We theoretically investigate the features of two-photon absorption in a coherently driven four-level atomic system with closed-loop configuration. It is found that two-photon absorption can be completely suppressed just by properly adjusting the relative phase of four coherent low-intensity driving fields and the atomic system becomes trans- parent against two-photon absorption. From a physical point of view, we explicitly explain these results in terms of quantum interference induced by two different two-photon excitation channels.     

Probe frequency- and field intensity-sensitive coherent control effects in an EIT-based periodic layered medium

A periodic layered medium, with unit cells consisting of a dielectric and an electromagnetically-induced transparency (EIT)-based atomic vapor, is designed for light propagation manipulation. Considering that a destructive quantum interference relevant to a two-photon resonance emerges in EIT-based atoms interacting with both control and probe fields, an EIT-based periodic layered medium exhibits a flexible frequency-sensitive optical response, where a very small variation in the probe frequency can lead to a drastic variation in reflectance and transmittance. The present EIT-based periodic layered structure can result in controllable optical processes that depend sensitively on the external control field. The tunable and sensitive optical response induced by the quantum interference of a multi-level atomic system can be applied in the fabrication of new photonic and quantum optical devices. This material will also open a good perspective for the application of such designs in several new fields, including photonic microcircuits or integrated optical circuits.     

Static-electric-field-induced polarization effects in harmonic generation

Two static-electric-field-induced effects on harmonic generation are demonstrated analytically and numerically: elliptic dichroism (in which the harmonic yield is different for right and left elliptically polarized laser fields) and elliptical polarization of harmonics produced by linearly polarized driving laser fields. Both effects stem from interference of real and imaginary parts of the nonlinear atomic susceptibilities. Possibilities for experimentally measuring these effects are discussed.     

Spontaneous emission properties of a driven five-level atom embedded in photonic crystals

The spontaneous emission spectra of a five-level double tripod-type atom embedded in photonic crystals (PCs) are investigated by means of two external fields driving different atomic transitions. We find that due to the quantum interference effects caused by two driving fields, the spontaneous emission spectra exhibit different features from the case of only one driving field. The influences of the parameters of two external driving fields, photonic band-gap (PBG), as well as the atomic initial states on the spectra are analyzed in detail. It is shown that some interesting phenomena such as spectral-line enhancement, spectral-line suppression, spectral-line narrowing, the appearance of dark lines, and multi-peak structures can be observed in the spectra by appropriately modulating the available system parameters. These investigations may find applications in high-precision spectroscopy.     

Controlling double-cavity optical switching in a K-type multilevel system including spontaneously generated coherence

A composite system consisting of a K-type atomic medium and a double optical cavity configuration is considered to study the phenomenon of atomic optical bistability (AOB) in the mean field approximation. The controllability of this phenomenon achieved by additional electromagnetic fields not circulating in the cavities is studied. Also, the effect of spontaneously generated coherence due to the quantum interference in decaying nearby levels on the multi-branched AOB is discussed. The system displays a new class of bifurcations.     

Quantum interference of single photons from remote nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond

We demonstrate quantum interference between indistinguishable photons emitted by two nitrogen-vacancy centers in distinct diamond samples separated by two meters. Macroscopic solid immersion lenses are used to enhance photon collection efficiency. Quantum interference is verified by measuring a value of the second-order cross-correlation function g((2))(0)=0.35±0.04<0.5. In addition, optical transition frequencies of two separated nitrogen-vacancy centers are tuned into resonance with each other by applying external electric fields. An extension of the present approach to generate entanglement of remote solid-state qubits is discussed.     

Coherent control of quantum entropy via quantum interference in a four-level N-type atomic system

The time evaluation of quantum entropy in a four-level N-type atomic system is theoretically investigated. Quantum entanglement of the atom and its spontaneous emission fields is then discussed via quantum entropy. It is found that the degree of entanglement can be increased by the quantum interference induced by spontaneous emission. The phase dependence of the atom-field entanglement is also presented.     

Nonlinear interactions and quantum entanglement for collective fields in near-resonantly driven systems

This paper proposes a novel form of multimode nonlinear interactions by using a near-resonantly dressed atomic ensemble in an optical cavity.Due to quantum interference,a pair of collective fields come into the bilinear interactions,whose strengths are proportional to the population difference between dressed states which are coupled to the collective fields.By such an interaction,it is possible to obtain perfect multimode squeezing and collective Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen(EPR) entanglement in the cavity output.     

Optical bistability and multi-stability in a four-level atomic scheme

We investigate the optical bistability (OB) and optical multi-stability (OM) in a four-level Y-type atomic system. It is found that the optical bistability can strongly be affected by intensity and frequency detuning of coupling and probe fields. The effect of spontaneously generated coherence on phase control of the OB and OM is then discussed. It has also been shown that the optical bistability can be switched to optical multi-stability just by the quantum interference mechanism and relative phase of applied fields.     

Control of the probe absorption via incoherent pumping fields in asymmetric semiconductor quantum wells

In a three-level asymmetric semiconductor quantum well system, owing to the effects that result from the incoherent pumping fields, the probe absorption of probe field can be effectively controlled. The result is achieved by applying the two incoherent pumping fields, so it is different from the conventional way in ordinary laser-driven schemes that coherent driving fields are necessary to control the probe absorption. Otherwise, our study is much more practical than its atomic counterpart due to its flexible design and the controllable interference strength. Thus, it may provide some new possibilities for technological applications in optoelectronics and solid-state quantum information science.     

VIC Effect and Phase-Dependent Optical Properties of Five-Level K-Type Atoms Interacting with Coherent Laser Fields

Due to interaction with the vacuum of the radiation field, a K-type atomic system with near-degenerate excited and ground levels, which is driven by two strong coherent fields and two weak probe fields, has additional coherence terms — the vacuum-induced coherence (VIC) terms. In this paper, we find that, if the interference is optimized, the two-photon absorption properties of this atom system can be significantly modified and electromagnetically-induced transparency (EIT) is dependent on this interference. Furthermore, we find that in all the cases the coherence can suppress or enhance the partial two-photon transparency, while the complete transparency window is still strictly preserved, which means that it cannot be affected by the VIC. Another important result is the finding of the crucial role played by the relative phase between the probe and coupling fields: the relative height of absorption peaks can be modulated by the relative phase. The physical interpretation of the phenomena has been given.     

Optical control of Feshbach resonances in Fermi gases using molecular dark states

We propose a general method for optical control of magnetic Feshbach resonances in ultracold atomic gases with more than one molecular state in an energetically closed channel. Using two optical frequencies to couple two states in the closed channel, inelastic loss arising from spontaneous emission is greatly suppressed by destructive quantum interference at the two-photon resonance, i.e., dark-state formation, while the scattering length is widely tunable by varying the frequencies and/or intensities of the optical fields. This technique is of particular interest for a two-component atomic Fermi gas, which is stable near a Feshbach resonance.     

Large index of refraction without absorption via decay-induced coherence in a three-level V system

We study the effects of quantum interference from spontaneous emission on the dispersion-absorption properties in a three-level V-type atomic system with two near-degenerate excited levels. We found that due to the quantum interference between two spontaneous decay channels, large index of refraction without absorption always can be obtained just by choosing proper values of the relative phase between the two applied fields.Received: 27 February 2004, Published online: 26 May 2004PACS: 42.50.Gy Effects of atomic coherence on propagation, absorption, and amplification of light; electromagnetically induced transparency and absorption - 42.50.Hz Strong-field excitation of optical transitions in quantum systems; multiphoton processes; dynamic Stark shift     

Cooperative Lamb shift in an atomic vapor layer of nanometer thickness

We present an experimental measurement of the cooperative Lamb shift and the Lorentz shift using a nanothickness atomic vapor layer with tunable thickness and atomic density. The cooperative Lamb shift arises due to the exchange of virtual photons between identical atoms. The interference between the forward and backward propagating virtual fields is confirmed by the thickness dependence of the shift, which has a spatial frequency equal to twice that of the optical field. The demonstration of cooperative interactions in an easily scalable system opens the door to a new domain for nonlinear optics.     

Phase control of group velocity in one-dimensional photonic crystal with a dispersive defect layer

Propagation of an electromagnetic pulse through one-dimensional photonic crystal doped with three-level ο-type atomic systems is discussed. It is found that in the presence of quantum interference and incoherent pump, the transmitted pulse becomes completely phase dependent. So, the group velocity of the transmitted pulse can be switched from subluminal to superluminal light propagation just by adjusting the relative phase of applied fields.