冷~(85)Rb原子中的非共线非简并四波混频的实验研究

文章介绍了在磁光阱制备的Rb85冷原子团中通过特定时序的光场进行四波混频的实验研究,我们观察到了混频光强度的空间分布,简要讨论了三束作用光场的频率和光强对混频光产生的影响.时序调制下的四波混频实验为利用冷原子系综制备非经典关联光子对提供了基础.     

Dicke-Narrowing Spectroscopy of Doubly Dressed Electromagnetically Induced Transparency and Singly Dressed Four-Wave-Mixing in a Confined Atomic System

Dicke-narrowing effect appears both in doubly dressed electromagnetically induced transparency and singly dressed four-wave-mixing lines due to the contribution of slow atoms resulting from de-excited effects of atom-wall collision and transient behaviour of atoms in a confined system. A robust recipe for high resolution spectroscopy of electromagnetically induced transparency dressed by two fields and four-wave-mixing lines comparable with the cold atoms is achievable in a thin vapour cell in experiments.     

Plasma-assisted coherent backscattering for standoff spectroscopy

We show that an intense coherent backward signal can be generated through a Raman-type four-wave-mixing process using forward propagating fields only. Phase matching for this process is achieved through a plasma modulation of the refractive index. Applications to standoff spectroscopy are discussed.     

Multiple frequency radiofrequency-optical resonance in a four-level model of rubidium atoms with optical pumping

We consider a four-level model for alkali metal atoms with optical pumping by nonresonant light under conditions when magnetic dipole transitions are induced between energy sublevels of the hyperfine structure in the ground state. We present the dependences of the observed signal as a function of the frequency detuning of the applied rf fields relative to the resonant value, calculated in the density matrix formalism. We note the absence of a light shift in the radiofrequency-optical resonance signal, independent of the amplitude of the rf field and the optical and thermal relaxation rates. We show that when using a modulation technique for phase detection of the signal, its maximum discrimination ability is observed under conditions for simultaneous modulation of the pump light intensity and the frequency of the rf field, which in principle does not occur in the classical two-level model for optically oriented atoms in magnetic resonance. __________ Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 73, No. 3, pp. 326–329, May–June, 2006.     

Efficient generation and control of robust stationary light signals in a double-Λ system of cold atoms

We study the dynamic processes of reversible light storage in a double-Λ system of cold atoms by modulating two counter-propagating control fields in three successive stages. We find that stationary light pulses (SLPs) can be generated when we switch on both control fields to retrieve the stored light signal from a wave-packet of atomic spin coherence. But the two control fields should have equal Rabi frequencies for a symmetric structure of atomic levels while unequal Rabi frequencies for an asymmetric structure of atomic levels. That is, the generation of SLPs requires a special ratio between Rabi frequencies of the two control fields, which is determined by the spontaneous decay rates of relevant atomic transitions. We also show that phase modulation and profile reversal of the released light signal can be implemented by suitably manipulating the two control fields. The double-Λ system of cold atoms has the advantage of high efficiency and high fidelity, when compared to the Λ system of cold atoms, because SLPs generated therein suffer very slow decay and diffusion.     

Effects of inert gases on the degenerate four-wave-mixing spectrum of NO2

We describe the effects of He, Ar and N₂ on the resonant degenerate four-wave-mixing spectrum of NO₂. We report results obtained using the phase-conjugate and forward-geometry experimental configurations for various laser intensities and bandwidths. We find that the effect of buffer-gas pressure on the reflectivity of the laser-induced grating depends critically on the relative value of the laser intensityI to the saturation parameterI _sat. WhenI I _sat the four-wave-mixing signal initially decreases with increasing buffer-gas pressure. However, at pressures above ca. 100 Torr the signal increases. WhenI I _sat the signal is found to increase with buffer-gas pressure even at the lowest pressures studied. These observations do not agree with the standard model of degenerate four-wave mixing in the gas phase. We have investigated the source of these effects by employing different polarisation geometries of the pump and probe laser fields, and conclude that thermal gratings are responsible for the increase in signal observed at high buffer-gas pressure. This conclusion is supported by a simple gas kinetic model.     

Four-wave mixing of light beams with engineered orbital angular momentum in cold cesium atoms

We report an experimental demonstration that shows that the spatial structure carried by engineered coherent superpositions of light beams with orbital angular momentum can be mapped into the nonlinear polarization induced in a cloud of cold cesium atoms. The structure of such polarization was revealed by nearly degenerate four-wave-mixing processes.     

Cold and ultracold Rydberg atoms in strong magnetic fields

Cold Rydberg atoms exposed to strong magnetic fields possess unique properties which open the pathway for an intriguing many-body dynamics taking place in Rydberg gases, consisting of either matter or anti-matter systems. We review both the foundations and recent developments of the field in the cold and ultracold regime where trapping and cooling of Rydberg atoms have become possible. Exotic states of moving Rydberg atoms, such as giant dipole states, are discussed in detail, including their formation mechanisms in a strongly magnetized cold plasma. Inhomogeneous field configurations influence the electronic structure of Rydberg atoms, and we describe the utility of corresponding effects for achieving tightly trapped ultracold Rydberg atoms. We review recent work on large, extended cold Rydberg gases in magnetic fields and their formation in strongly magnetized ultracold plasmas through collisional recombination. Implications of these results for current antihydrogen production experiments are pointed out, and techniques for the trapping and cooling of such atoms are investigated.     

An experimental approach for investigating many-body phenomena in Rydberg-interacting quantum systems

Recent developments in the study of ultracold Rydberg gases demand an adwanced level of experimental sophistication, in which high atomic and optical densities must be combined with excellent control of external fields and sensitive Rydberg atom detection. We describe a tailored experimental system used to produce and study Rydberg-interacting atoms excited from dense ultracold atomic gases. The experiment has been optimized for fast duty cycles using a high flux cold atom source and a three beam optical dipole trap. The latter enables tuning of the atomic density and temperature over several orders of magnitude, all the way to the Bose--Einstein condensation transition. An elec- trode structure surrounding the atoms allows for precise control over electric fields and single-particle sensitive field ionization detection of Rydberg atoms. We review two experiments which highlight the influence of strong Rydberg---Rydberg interactions on different many-body systems. First, the Rydberg blockade effect is used to pre-structure an atomic gas prior to its spontaneous evolution into an ultracold plasma. Second, hybrid states of photons and atoms called dark-state polaritons are studied. By looking at the statistical distribution of Rydberg excited atoms we reveal correlations between dark-state polaritons. These experiments will ultimately provide a deeper understanding of many-body phenomena in strongly-interacting regimes, including the study of strongly-coupled plasmas and interfaces between atoms and light at the quantum level.     

Rabi-oscillation-enhanced frequency conversion in quantum-dot semiconductor optical amplifiers

We investigate the nonlinear light propagation in InAs/InGaAs quantum-dot-in-a-well semiconductor optical amplifiers in the limit of strong optical excitation where Rabi oscillations are excited in the active medium. The amplifier is analyzed in a degenerate four-wave-mixing setup and characterized by its frequency conversion and creation performance. Our simulations show that the interplay between the nonlinear four-wave-mixing process and the coherent Rabi oscillations greatly influences the frequency conversion process. Rabi oscillations can be resonantly excited by the correct choice of the frequency detuning between pump and probe signals, which greatly enhances the nonlinear frequency conversion efficiency at frequencies up to several THz. We furthermore show that the coherent pulse shaping of ultrashort optical pulses in the quantum-dot medium can greatly enhance their spectral bandwidth, potentially allowing for ultra-broad-band frequency comb generation.     

Quantum Optics of Ultracold Molecular Fields

We apply concepts of quantum optical coherence to characterize the coherent generation of a molecular field from a quantum-degenerate atomic sample, and discuss the impact of the quantum statistics of the atoms on that field. For atoms initially in a BEC the resulting molecular field is to a good approximation coherent. This is in sharp contrast to the case of atoms in a normal Fermi gas, where we can made use of an analogy with the Tavis-Cummings model to show that the statistics of the resulting molecular field is similar to that of a single-mode chaotic light field. The BCS case interpolates between the two extremes, with an ＇incoherent＇ contribution from unpaired atoms superposed to a ＇coherent＇ contribution from atomic Cooper pairs. We also comment on the temporal fluctuations characteristic of the formation of molecular dimers from ultracold fermionic atoms.     

Definition and measurement of global thermodynamic variables for laser-cooled trapped gas

We have used the definition of global thermodynamic variables like pressure and volume for atoms trapped in a nonuniform potential to measure the state equation for a sample of cold Na atoms kept trapped in a quadrupole magnetic field. The results show that, for low atomic density, the system behaves like an ideal gas where pressure and volume are inversely proportional. At high density values (compressed system), the deviation from an ideal gas is clear. A model based on virial expansion shows that the measured deviation is larger than the expected first-order correction. Employing the concept of global variables may be an important procedure to describe the thermodynamic of gases in the ultracold regime eventually crossing the values where critical phenomena like Bose condensation, among others, take place.     

Pump-probe spectroscopy of atoms cooled in a 3D lin lin optical lattice

We describe the pump-probe spectroscopy of atoms cooled in a 3D lin⊥lin optical lattice. Our pump-probe configuration consists of two laser fields detuned with respect to the lattice fields. This scheme allows to clearly identify in the probe transmission spectrum the Brillouin and Raman resonances, by studying their positions as functions of the angle between the pump and probe beams. We describe these resonances in detail, and compare the experimental results to the theoretical predictions. Our conclusions are supported by transport-spectroscopy measurements, which allow to distinguish between contributions to the light scattering from propagating and non-propagating atoms. Received 8 April 2002 / Received in final form 9 September 2002 Published online 12 November 2002     

The cold atom Hubbard toolbox

We review recent theoretical advances in cold atom physics concentrating on strongly correlated cold atoms in optical lattices. We discuss recently developed quantum optical tools for manipulating atoms and show how they can be used to realize a wide range of many body Hamiltonians. Then, we describe connections and differences to condensed matter physics and present applications in the fields of quantum computing and quantum simulations. Finally, we explain how defects and atomic quantum dots can be introduced in a controlled way in optical lattice systems.     

Generation of correlated photon pairs in a microstructure fiber

We propose and experimentally demonstrate a new method of generating correlated photons in a microstructure fiber by means of a reversed degenerate four-wave-mixing process. Here one photon is annihilated from each of the bichromatic pump pulses to generate a pair of photons at the mean frequency. For a microstructure fiber as short as 1.5 m the measured coincidence counting rate is approximately eight times that of the accidental coincidences with a peak pump power of 0.25 W.     

Light-induced effect on the density distribution in a sample of cold trapped atoms

As it is known [1] an intense laser field can induce atom-atom interaction according to a dipole-dipole R ^–3 law. Such an interaction depends on the angle between light polarization and interatomic vector-position R. This angular dependence may produce an anisotropy in the spatial density distribution of the confined sample of cold atoms. We develop the main relations and apply them to the case of an atomic cloud of cold trapped neutral atoms with the density higher than or of the order of ^–3, where is the wavelength of light. The results presented here show the effect of such an interaction in a density regime of high experimental interest.     

White-light supercontinuum generation with 60-ps pump pulses in a photonic crystal fiber

The generation of a spatially single-mode white-light supercontinuum has been observed in a photonic crystal fiber pumped with 60-ps pulses of subkilowatt peak power. The spectral broadening is identified as being due to the combined action of stimulated Raman scattering and parametric four-wave-mixing generation, with a negligible contribution from the self-phase modulation of the pump pulses. The experimental results are in good agreement with detailed numerical simulations. These findings demonstrate that ultrafast femtosecond pulses are not needed for efficient supercontinuum generation in photonic crystal fibers.     

Velocity selective trapping of atoms in a frequency-modulated laser field

The wavefunction of a moderately cold atom in a stationary near-resonant standing light wave delocalizes very fast due to wave packet splitting. However, we show that frequency modulation of the field may suppress packet splitting for some atoms having specific velocities in a narrow range. These atoms remain localized in a small space for a long time. We propose that in a real experiment with cold atomic gas this effect may decrease the velocity distribution of atoms (the field traps the atoms with such specific velocities while all other atoms leave the field).     

Phase-modulation-induced two-wave mixing in semiconductors

Two-wave mixing amplification of a weak probe beam interfering with a powerful pump beam of the same linear polarization is demonstrated when the probe beam enters the semiconductor sample before the pump pulse. This mixing of two beams of the same frequency is made possible by the difference between self-phase modulation and cross-phase modulation, which modify differently the instantaneous frequencies of both beams. Net gain coefficients up to 5.5 cm (-1) are obtained for experiments performed in CdTe. Theoretical calculations quantitatively confirm this interpretation and predict much higher gain for more resonant configurations or higher pump energies, making this process of potential interest for optical processing.     

Generation of a wide discrete visible spectrum in a frequency-doubling optical fiber

We describe some special features of frequency doubling in a Ge-doped SiO₂ optical fiber. The generation of a multi-frequency visible spectrum in a single short fiber pumped with 1.06 µm radiation is demonstrated. This effect is the result of an interplay between the processes of frequency doubling and third-order nonlinear frequency mixing. Most of the new components coincide with the characteristic stimulated four-wave-mixing spectrum of the fiber, although the power of the internally generated 0.532 µm pump was more than an order of magnitude below the respective thresholds.