Phase control in a coherent superposition of degenerate quantum states through frequency control

We demonstrate a controlled phase change of π in a degenerate superposition by altering a laser frequency by only 10 MHz. The method relies on the preparation of an adiabatic state involving the M = ±2 and M = 0 states of the ³P₂ (J = 2) level of metastable neon. Dependent on the frequency, the preparation proceeds either by stimulated Raman adiabatic passage (STIRAP) or by coherent population trapping (CPT). In the former case the superposition is prepared by adiabatic transfer induced in an extended tripod linkage scheme. In the latter case population is optically pumped into the Zeeman manifold of the level ³P₂. The population which does not reach a dark state decays to the ground state of neon. The amplitudes and relative phases of the dark states differ for the two cases. The phase change is monitored using the method of phase-to-population mapping.     

Stimulated Raman adiabatic passage with temporal pulselets

Stimulated Raman adiabatic passage (STIRAP) is a well established technique whereby two pulses, S preceding P, induce complete population transfer between states 1 and 3 of a three-state chain, 1-2-3. Traditionally, the S and P pulse envelopes are taken as positive (often with Gaussian form of time dependence). However, when the envelope undergoes a sign change during the pulse, as occurs with pulses in which an abrupt phase change of π occurs and whose temporal area (time-integrated Rabi frequency) is zero, then the simple population transfer need not occur. Instead there may occur multiple adiabatic passages, in which the population may ultimately be left in either state 1 (a double STIRAP) or state 3 (a triple STIRAP) or, with suitable pulse delay, in a superposition of these two states. These adiabatic changes offer possibilities to produce final-state probability amplitudes with either positive or negative signs. We here show simulated examples of such behavior, and discuss the adiabatic conditions needed for such excitation to occur.     

Quantum state engineering in ion-traps via adiabatic passage

We propose two relatively robust schemes to generate entangled W states of three (or generally N) ions in ion trap systems by using adiabatic passage technique and appropriately designed ion-field couplings in a single step. In the first scheme, we apply the N-pod fractional stimulated Raman adiabatic passage (F-STIRAP) technique to generate W state of N ions using two Gaussian laser pulses. We also show that the W state of N ? 1 ions can be created via a simple N-pod standard STIRAP by two laser pulses. In the second scheme, we generate the entangled state of N ions via ??-pulse technique by a single laser pulse. We also study the population transfer of the system by numerical solutions of the master equation, considering the effect of decoherence channels due to laser intensity fluctuations and dissipation in the phonon modes.     

Stimulated Raman adiabatic passage in fields with stochastic amplitudes

A theoretical analysis is presented of the effect of correlation between fluctuations of laser pulse amplitudes on population transfer between the states of a three-level atom coupled by the laser field. The carrier frequencies of the pulses are tuned to resonance with the transitions between the ground and excited states, |〈 and | 2〈, and the excited and metastable states, |2〈 and |3〈, in a lambda-type configuration. The laser pulses are timed so that population transfer between states |1〈 and | 3〈 is made possible by stimulated Raman adiabatic passage (STIRAP) in the absence of fluctuations. STIRAP does not occur when the laser fields are not correlated. When the fluctuations of one pulse amplitude duplicate those of the other, STIRAP can be observed for pulse amplitudes larger than those required in the absence of fluctuations.     

Arbitrary quantum superposition state for three-level system using oscillating dark states

An method for adiabatic population transfer and the preparation of an arbitrary quantum superposition state using the oscillating dark states (ODS) in atomic system is presented. Quantum state of a three-level Λ configuration atomic system finally evolves into the same time-dependent state, and oscillates periodically between two ground levels under evolving adiabatic conditions when two pairs of classical detuning laser fields drive the system into the ODS forcedly, whatever the initial states of the system are. The decoherence of the ODS evolution is greatly suppressed and the oscillation is very stable, therefore adiabatic population transfer and the preparation of an arbitrary quantum superposition state of atomic system can be completed accurately and conveniently.     

Adiabatic population transfer in multistate chains via dressed intermediate states

The well-known process of stimulated Raman adiabatic passage (STIRAP) provides a robust technique for achieving complete population transfer between the first and last state of a three-state chain, with little population, even transiently, in the intermediate state. The extension of STIRAP to general N-state chainwise-linked systems continues to generate interest. Recently Malinovsky and Tannor (Phys. Rev. A 56, 4929 (1997)) have shown with numerical simulation that a resonant pulse sequence, which they term “straddle STIRAP”, can produce (under appropriate conditions, including specific pulse areas) complete population transfer with very little population in intermediate states. Their proposal supplements a pair of counterintuitively ordered delayed laser pulses, driving the first and last transition of the chain and corresponding to the pump and Stokes pulses in STIRAP, with one or more additional strong pulses of longer duration which couple the intermediate transition(s) and overlap both the pump and the Stokes pulses. In this paper, we modify the “straddling” Malinovsky-Tannor pulse sequence so that the intermediate couplings are constant (and strong), at least during the times when the pump and Stokes pulses are present, and the intermediate states therefore act as a strongly coupled subsystem with constant eigenvalues. Under this condition, we show that the original N-state chain is mathematically equivalent to a system comprising N-2 parallel -transitions, in which the initial state is coupled simultaneously to N-2 dressed intermediate states, which in turn are coupled to the final state. The population transfer is optimized by suitably tuning the pump and Stokes frequencies to resonance with one of these dressed intermediate states, which effectively acts as the single intermediate state in a three-state STIRAP-like process. We show that tuning to a dressed intermediate state turns the system (for both odd N and even N) into a three-state system - with all of the properties of conventional STIRAP (complete population transfer, little transient population in the intermediate states, insensitivity to variations in the laser parameters, such as pulse area). The success of the tuning-to-dressed-state idea is explained by using simple analytic approaches and illustrated with numerical simulations for four-, five-, six- and seven-state systems. Received: 17 April 1998 / Accepted: 15 June 1998     

Efficient population transfer by delayed pulses despite coupling ambiguity

In traditional schemes of multilevel multilaser excitation, each laser pulse interacts with only one pair of states, and the rotating wave approximation (RWA) is applicable. Here we study the population transfer process in a three-state system when each of the two lasers interacts with each of the pair of states and when the Rabi frequencies characterizing the interaction strengths of the system are comparable to or larger than the difference of the transition frequencies. We show that complete and robust population transfer is possible under conditions more general than those hitherto considered necessary for stimulated Raman adiabatic passage (STIRAP) or for successive π pulses. Using adiabatic Floquet theory we show that successful population transfer can be interpreted as adiabatic passage by means of a transfer state which connects the initial and final states. The Floquet picture offers a convenient interpretation of the population transfer as accompanied by multiple absorption of photons from or emission into the laser fields.     

Coherent superpositions of states in coupled Hilbert-space using step by step Morris–Shore transformation

Creation of coherent superpositions in quantum systems with N_a$N_a$ states in the lower set and N_b$N_b$ states in the upper set is presented. The solution is drived by using the Morris–Shore transformation, which step by step reduces the fully coupled system to a three-state Λ$\Lambda$-like system and a set of decoupled states. It is shown that, for properly timed pulse, robust population transfer from an initial ground state (or superposition of M$M$ ground states) to an arbitrary coherent superposition of the ground states can be achieved by coincident pulses and/or STIRAP techniques.     

Generation of atomic entangled states in a bi-mode cavity via adiabatic passage

We propose schemes to prepare atomic entangled states in a bi-mode cavity via stimulated Raman adiabatic passage (STIRAP) and fractional stimulated Raman adiabatic passage (f-STIRAP) techniques. Our scheme should be realizable in the near future because of the existence of all experimental ingredients. Our numerical simulation shows we can entangle the atoms with high fidelities by choosing proper laser pulses.     

Stimulated Raman adiabatic passage via the ionization continuum in helium: Experiment and theory

We experimentally demonstrate coherent population transfer, driven by stimulated Raman adiabatic passage (STIRAP) between two bound quantum states, coupled via a continuum of states. We present extended numerical and experimental investigations on population transfer from the metastable state 2s ¹S₀ to the excited state 4s ¹S₀ in metastable helium atoms. While techniques based on incoherent excitation do not permit any population transfer via rapidly decaying continuum states, our data indicate a maximum transfer efficiency of 20% in coherent excitation by STIRAP. We study the transfer efficiency with respect to the relevant experimental parameters.     

原子-二聚物分子转化系统在受激拉曼绝热过程中的绝热保真度

从原子-二聚物分子转化系统的非U（1）对称性出发,将保真度的定义推广到了非线性系统.并利用绝热保真度定量地研究了原子-二聚物分子转化系统在受激拉曼绝热过程中的动力学和绝热性.研究发现,这个系统的相干布居俘获态——暗态的绝热保真度作为绝热参量的函数以幂律关系趋于1.这个函数关系与线性系统的绝热参量和绝热保真度的幂律关系非常相似,但该系统的幂指数要远小于线性系统的幂指数.此外,还进一步讨论了如何通过优化受激拉曼绝热过程的外部参量得到更高的绝热保真度,从而优化系统的绝热性,提高原子-分子转化效率. 关键词： 原子-二聚物分子转化系统 暗态 受激拉曼绝热过程 绝热保真度     

Creation and measurement of a coherent superposition of quantum states

We demonstrate experimental techniques for creating and measuring a coherent superposition of two degenerate atomic states with equal amplitudes in metastable neon. Starting from state (3)P(0), we create adiabatically a coherent superposition of the magnetic sublevels M=+/-1 of the state (3)P(2) using a tripod stimulated Raman adiabatic passage scheme. The measurement is based on the coupling of the levels (3)P(2)<-->(3)P(1) by a linearly polarized laser, followed by the detection of the population in the (3)P(2)(M=+/-2) states as a function of the polarization angle of that laser.     

Macroscopic atom-molecule dark state and its collective excitations in fermionic systems

We show that a robust macroscopic atom-molecule dark state can exist in fermionic systems, which represents a coherent superposition between the ground molecular Bose-Einstein condensates and the atomic BCS paired state. We take advantage of the tunability offered by external laser fields, and explore this superposition for demonstrating coherent oscillations between ground molecules and atom pairs. We interpret the oscillation frequencies in terms of the collective excitations of the dark state.     

Dark resonances for ground-state transfer of molecular quantum gases

One possible way to produce ultra-cold, high-phase-space-density quantum gases of molecules in the rovibronic ground state is given by molecule association from quantum-degenerate atomic gases on a Feshbach resonance and subsequent coherent optical multi-photon transfer into the rovibronic ground state. In ultra-cold samples of Cs₂ molecules, we observe two-photon dark resonances that connect the intermediate rovibrational level |v=73,J=2〉 with the rovibrational ground state |v=0,J=0〉 of the singlet X ¹ Σ _g ⁺ ground-state potential. For precise dark resonance spectroscopy we exploit the fact that it is possible to efficiently populate the level |v=73,J=2〉 by two-photon transfer from the dissociation threshold with the stimulated Raman adiabatic passage (STIRAP) technique. We find that at least one of the two-photon resonances is sufficiently strong to allow future implementation of coherent STIRAP transfer of a molecular quantum gas to the rovibrational ground state |v=0,J=0〉.     

Schemes for performance of displacing Hadamard gate with coherent states

We propose an approach with displaced states to use it for rotations of base coherent states and squeezed coherent states. Our approach is based on representation of the coherent states in free-traveling fields in terms of displaced number states with arbitrary amplitude of displacement. Two optical schemes are developed for construction of Hadamard gate for the base states. One of the optical schemes is based on alternation of photon additions and displacement operators (in general case, N-photon additions and N?1-displacements are required) to generate displaced squeezed even/odd superposition of coherent states (SCSs) with high fidelity in dependency on type (computational zero or one) of the base input state. Another optical scheme uses two-photon subtracted squeezed coherent states to approximate outcome of the Hadamard gate for the base squeezed coherent states. Output states approximate with high fidelity either even squeezed SCS or odd SCS shifted relative to each other by some value. It enables to adjust the optical scheme for construction of the Hadamard gate being mainframe element for quantum computation with basic squeezed coherent states.     

超冷原子-分子转化动力学：受激拉曼绝热过程

超冷分子是超冷原子分子物理领域的新的热点研究课题。分子具有更多的自由度,能级结构密集、复杂,直接激光冷却存在困难。目前,人们一般借助外场把超冷原子耦合获得超冷分子。受激拉曼绝热暗通道技术~(stimulated Raman adiabatic passage,STIRAP)作为其中一种非常有效地将超冷原子转化为超冷分子的方法已被广泛地研究。该文主要针对STIRAP过程中超冷原子-分子转化系统的动力学,绝热性、稳定性等理论研究的进展进行综述。     

双Λ型原子系统中制备相干叠加态的研究(英文)

本文讨论了在双Λ型原子系统中制备相干叠加态的方法:一个Λ型系统通过控制激光而另一个Λ型系统采用部分受激拉曼绝热通道的方法.在理论上分析了产生任意相干叠加态的可能性并且讨论了透热系统在产生相干叠加态过程中的重要性.研究表明,没有透热过程是不可能制备出任意的叠加态.应用数值方法验证理论分析是正确,并且指出任意叠加态的产生只与控制脉冲的时间延迟有关.     

用于铯原子受激拉曼绝热输运过程的光源的产生

受激拉曼绝热输运(STIRAP)是一种有效制备和控制原子态的技术,在原子操控和量子信息中具有重要意义,最近几年得到广泛关注.研制用于特定原子的拉曼激光是实现该过程的重要一步.研究了利用光纤波导调制器及干涉滤波器等组成的系统实现用于铯原子STIRAP过程的光源的方法.通过直接调制高频光纤调制器获得正负一级边带,并利用两个...     

Enhanced four-wave mixing in mercury isotopes, prepared by stark-chirped rapid adiabatic passage

We demonstrate significant enhancement of four-wave mixing in coherently driven mercury isotopes to generate vacuum-ultraviolet radiation at 125 nm. The enhancement is accomplished by preparation of the mercury atoms in a state of maximum coherence, i.e. maximum nonlinear-optical polarization, driven by Stark-chirped rapid adiabatic passage (SCRAP). In this technique, a pump laser at 313 nm excites the two-photon transition between the ground state 6s²¹S₀ and the target state 7s ¹S₀ in mercury. A strong, off-resonant radiation field at 1064 nm generates dynamic Stark shifts. These Stark shifts serve to induce a rapid adiabatic passage process on the two-photon transition. During the process a coherent superposition of the two states is established, which enhances the nonlinear-optical polarization in the medium to the maximum possible value. The maximum coherence permits efficient four-wave mixing of a pump laser and an additional probe laser at 626 nm. The efficiency is further enhanced, as the SCRAP process allows to stimulate the complete set of different mercury isotopes to participate in the frequency conversion process. This enlarges the effective atomic density of the medium. Thus, we observe the generation of vacuum-ultraviolet radiation at 125 nm enhanced by more than one order of magnitude with respect to conventional frequency conversion. Parallel to the frequency conversion process, we monitored the evolution of the population in the medium by laser-induced fluorescence. These data demonstrate efficient coherent population transfer by SCRAP.     

Three level atom optics in dipole traps and waveguides

An analogy is explored between a setup of three atomic traps coupled via tunneling and an internal atomic three-level system interacting with two laser fields. Within this scenario we describe a STIRAP like process which allows to move an atom between the ground states of two trapping potentials and analyze its robustness. This analogy is extended to other robust and coherent transport schemes and to systems of more than a single atom. Finally it is applied to manipulate external degrees of freedom of atomic wave packets propagating in waveguides.