Squeezing and entanglement of a two-mode field in a four-level tripod atomic system

The interaction of a collection of N four-level tripod configuration atoms with two orthogonally polarized probe fields is investigated. Under the condition of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT), we calculate the squeezing and entanglement spectra of the output probe fields. By analyzing the output spectrum, we find that the squeezing and entanglement of the probe fields can be well-preserved after passing through the optically thick medium. Additionally, the effects of the ground state dephasing rates of the atoms on the entanglement and squeezing of the output two-mode squeezed fields are investigated. It is shown that the dephasing rates will degrade the entanglement and squeezing, and these quantum properties can be lost when the dephasing rates increase up to a certain value. This will be useful in the quantum computation and quantum communication.     

Subnatural linewidth in a strongly-driven degenerate two-level system

We observe linewidths below the natural linewidth for a probe laser on a degenerate two-level F → F′ transition, when the same transition is driven by a strong control laser. We take advantage of the fact that each level of the transition is made of multiple magnetic sublevels, and use the phenomenon of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) or absorption (EIA) in multilevel systems. Optical pumping by the control laser redistributes the population so that only a few sublevels contribute to the probe absorption, an explanation which is verified by a density-matrix analysis of the relevant sublevels. We observe more than a factor of 3 reduction in linewidth in the D₂ line of Rb in room-temperature vapor. Such subnatural features vastly increase the scope of applications of EIT, such as high-resolution spectroscopy and tighter locking of lasers to atomic transitions, since it is not always possible to find a suitable third level.     

Double dark resonances and the dispersion properties in a four-level inverted-Y atomic system

The electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) and its dispersion properties in a four-level inverted-Y atomic system are investigated. The absorption spectrum of a weak probe field shows two EIT windows (dark resonances) whose location, width, and depth can be controlled by manipulating the parameters of the coupling fields; the corresponding dispersion properties are also measured by using a Mach-Zehnder interferometer. The experimental measurements agree well with the theoretical calculations. This kind of system can find important applications in two-channel quantum communication and information storage.     

Solution‐processable colorless polyimides derived from hydrogenated pyromellitic dianhydride with controlled steric structure

This work presents novel colorless polyimides (PIs) derived from 1R,2S,4S,5R‐cyclohexanetetracarboxylic dianhydride (H″‐PMDA). Isomer effects were also discussed by comparing with PI systems derived from conventional hydrogenated pyromellitic dianhydride, that is, 1S,2R,4S,5R‐cyclohexanetetracarboxylic dianhydride (H‐PMDA). H″‐PMDA was much more reactive with various diamines than H‐PMDA, and the former led to PI precursors with much higher molecular weights. The results can be explained from the quite different steric structures of these isomers. The thermally imidized H″‐PMDA‐based films were colorless regardless of diamines because of inhibited charge‐transfer interaction. In particular, the H″‐PMDA/4,4′‐oxydianiline system simultaneously achieved a very high T_g exceeding 300 °C, high toughness (elongation at break > 70%), and good solution processability. In contrast, the H‐PMDA‐based counterparts were essentially insoluble. The outstanding solubility of the former probably results from disturbed chain stacking by its nonplanar steric structure. An advantage of chemical imidization process is also proposed. In some cases, a copolymerization approach with an aromatic tetracarboxylic dianhydride was effective to improve the thermal expansion property. The results suggest that the H″‐PMDA‐based PI systems can be promising candidates for novel high‐temperature plastic substrate materials in electronic paper displays. A potential application as optical compensation film materials in liquid crystal displays (LCD) is also proposed in this work. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2013     

9,9′‐spirobifluorene‐containing polycarbonates: Transparent polymers with high refractive index and low birefringence

Syntheses of 2,2′‐bisalcoholic group‐substituted 9,9′‐spirobifluorene monomers 2 were performed by the reaction of 2,2′‐dihydroxy‐9,9′‐spirobifluorene 2a with haloalcohols. Polycarbonates consisting of 9,9′‐spirobifluorene skeleton in the main chain (PC 4 ) were synthesized by the polycondensation of 2,2′‐bisalcoholic monomers 2 and triphosgene or diphenyl carbonate. PC 4 showed good thermal stability: the 5% weight loss temperature was over 330 °C under both nitrogen and air atmospheres. The glass transition temperature was in a range of 16–269 °C estimated by differential scanning calorimetry, depending on the flexibility of the alkylene or oxyethylene chains of 2 . PC 4 showed high solubility toward ordinary organic solvents such as CHCl₃, benzene, and THF, making possible the preparation of the flexible thin films. Very high refractive index in a range of 1.62–1.66 at 589 nm was observed although PC 4 consists only of C, H, and O atoms, whereas very low degree of birefringence was confirmed. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 48: 3658–3667, 2010     

Comparison of steady and transient optical responses between a four-level Tripod system and a three-level Lambda system

We study and compare the steady and transient optical responses of a four-level system and a three-level system, which are dressed by two and three laser fields, respectively. In the three-level system, a transmissivity window (a reflectivity platform) may be induced on the probe resonance by a traveling-wave (standing-wave) coupling field. In the four-level system, both transmissivity window and reflectivity platform are remarkably modified when a traveling-wave driving field is applied on two-photon resonance with the probe, but change little when the traveling-wave driving field is largely two-photon detuned. This implies that the four-level system can be safely treated as a three-level one in certain frequency regions of interest. Transient behaviors of atomic coherence on the probe resonance are also examined in both three-level and four-level systems to further confirm this conclusion. Our new findings are beneficial to achieve a novel all-optical routing scheme by simultaneously creating a transmissivity window and a reflectivity platform on a single resonance, and may also be used to simplify theoretical treatments in the situations where numerical calculations are complicated and intractable in the presence of at least one standing-wave field.     

Characterization of the mesostructure of HDPE under “in situ” uniaxial tensile test by incoherent polarized steady‐light transport

This study presents quantitative results related to in situ investigation of the microstructural evolutions of high‐density polyethylene with deformation. These results were obtained thanks to a novel technique (IPSLT) based on the polarized light scattering transport phenomenon. The heterogeneities produced during whitening of the polymer bulk are characterized at the mesoscale level (from hundred of nanometers to a few micrometers). The technique is described as well as the identified parameters it provides, namely: the average size of the scatterers, the anisotropy developed in the medium, and the light transport length, representative of both the volume fraction and size of the heterogeneities. Results obtained during video‐controlled tensile experiments confirm those obtained previously with X‐ray microtomography. They put forward the role of morphological transformations of the amorphous/crystalline phases (especially regarding the creation of fibrillar assemblies) rather than the cavitation phenomenon. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys, 2012     

相干驱动场的线宽对电磁感应透明的影响

考虑相干驱动场的线宽，探讨了其对双激发态原子三能级系统中的电磁感应透明现象的影响，得到结论：相干驱动场的线宽抑制了介质对弱探测光的透明。     

Λ型三能级原子系统中Raman跃迁增强的Kerr非线性效应

在理论上研究了Λ型三能级原子系统Raman跃迁中的线性和非线性极化率.研究表明: Raman 跃迁中，如果原子完全被抽运到与控制光作用的基态时，将导致介质对探针光的线性极化率 为零，而三阶非线性极化率不为零.通过减小原子两基态间的无辐射衰减速率γ_{12，可以极大地增强交叉Kerr非线性效应.}     

Coherent control of stationary light pulses

We present a detailed analysis of the recently demonstrated technique to generate quasi-stationary pulses of light [M. Bajcsy, A.S. Zibrov, M.D. Lukin, Nature (London) 426 (2003) 638] based on electromagnetically induced transparency. We show that the use of counter-propagating control fields to retrieve a light pulse, previously stored in a collective atomic Raman excitation, leads to quasi-stationary light field that undergoes a slow diffusive spread. The underlying physics of this process is identified as pulse matching of probe and control fields. We then show that spatially modulated control-field amplitudes allow us to coherently manipulate and compress the spatial shape of the stationary light pulse. These techniques can provide valuable tools for quantum nonlinear optics and quantum information processing.