Controllable beating signal using stored light pulse

We experimentally study the controllable generation of a beating signal using stored light pulses based on electromagnetically induced transparency(EIT) in a solid medium. The beating signal relies on an asymmetric procedure of light storage and retrieval. After storing the probe pulse into the spin coherence under the EIT condition, two-color control fields with opposite detunings instead of the initial control field are used to scatter the stored spin coherence. The controllable beating signal is generated due to alternative constructive and destructive interferences in the retrieved signal intensities. The beating of the two-color control fields is mapped into the beating of weak probe fields by using atomic spin coherence. This beating signal will be important in precise atomic spectroscopy and fast quantum limited measurements.     

Generation and storage of double slow light pulses in a solid

We experimentally study the generation and storage of double slow light pulses in a Pr³⁺:Y₂SiO₅ crystal. Under electromagnetically induced transparency, a single signal pulse is stored in the spin coherence of the crystal. By simultaneously switching on two control fields to recall the stored information, the spin coherence is converted into two slow light pulses with distinct frequencies. Furthermore, the storage and controlled retrieval of double slow light pulses are obtained by manipulating the control fields. This study of double slow light pulses may have practical applications in information processing and all-optical networks. vspace2mm     

Coherence transfer between atomic ground states by the technique of stimulated Raman adiabatic passage

We experimentally and theoretically demonstrate that the atomic coherence can be completely transferred or arbitrarily contributed among the different levels in a four-level atomic (tripod) scheme by a group of coupled pulse sequences. This technique can be applied to the information conversion in slow-light storage, quantum logical gates, and so on, which is based on the atomic coherence effect.     

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.     

Pulse pair generation from coherently prepared atomic ensembles

We report a detailed investigation on the generation of pulse pairs during the readout of a coherence grating stored in a cold atomic ensemble. The pulse shapes and the split of the retrieved energy between the two pulses are studied as a function of the relative intensities of the two reading fields, and a minimum is observed for the total retrieved energy. We introduce a simplified analytical theory for the process, considering a three-level atomic system, which explains all the most striking experimental features.     

Storage of light in atomic vapor

We report an experiment in which a light pulse is effectively decelerated and trapped in a vapor of Rb atoms, stored for a controlled period of time, and then released on demand. We accomplish this "storage of light" by dynamically reducing the group velocity of the light pulse to zero, so that the coherent excitation of the light is reversibly mapped into a Zeeman (spin) coherence of the Rb vapor.     

Efficient double-quantum excitation in rotational resonance NMR

We present a new technique for double-quantum excitation in magic-angle-spinning solid-state NMR. The method involves (i) preparation of nonequilibrium longitudinal magnetization; (ii) mechanical excitation of zero-quantum coherence by spinning the sample at rotational resonance, and (iii) phase-coherent conversion of the zero-quantum coherence into double-quantum coherence by frequency-selective spin inversion. The double-quantum coherence is converted into observable magnetization by reversing the excitation process, followed by a pi/2 pulse. The method is technically simple, does not require strong RF fields, and is feasible at high spinning frequencies. In [(13)C(2),(15)N]-glycine, with an internuclear (13)C-(13)C distance of 0.153 nm, we achieve a double-quantum filtering efficiency of approximately 56%. In [11, 20-(13)C(2)]-all-E-retinal, with an internuclear (13)C-(13)C distance of 0.296 nm, we obtain approximately 45% double-quantum filtering efficiency.     

Where is the energy of slow light stored?

We analyze the energy storage process of light propagating with slow group velocity in a sample where electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) is created by a strong coupling field. We compare the formation of slow light in EIT and in self-induced transparency (SIT). For SIT, soliton-like propagation of light with essentially reduced group velocity takes place because of the temporary storage of an appreciable part of the pulse energy in the atoms. For EIT, no energy of the probe is stored in the atoms. This energy is transformed to the coupling field and leaves the sample with phase velocity c without absorption. Slow light is formed by a low frequency coherence induced at the input by the probe and coupling fields in a two-quantum excitation process. This coherence propagates as a “spin wave” with small group velocity, and at a large distance from the input, the coherence rules the process of the energy transformation from the coupling field to the probe, reproducing exactly the temporal profile of the probe at the input.     

多个量子节点确定性纠缠的建立

量子纠缠是一种重要的量子资源,在多个空间分离的量子存储器间建立确定性的量子纠缠,然后在用户控制的时刻将所存储的量子纠缠转移到量子信道中进行信息的分发和传送,这对于实现量子信息网络是至关重要的.本文介绍了用光学参量放大器制备与铷原子D1吸收线对应的非经典光场,而且在三个空间分离的原子系综中确定性量子纠缠的产生、存储和转移.利用电磁感应透明光和原子相互作用的原理,将制备的多组分光场纠缠态模式映射到三个远距离的原子系综以建立原子自旋波之间的纠缠.然后,存储在原子系综中的纠缠态通过三个量子通道,纠缠态的量子噪声被转移到三束空间分离的正交纠缠光场.三束释放的光场间纠缠的存在验证了该系统具有保持多组分纠缠的能力.这个方案实现了三个量子节点间的纠缠,并且可以直接扩展到具有更多节点的量子网络,为未来实现大型量子网络通信奠定了基础.     

Selective creation of maximum coherence in multi-level Λ system

We consider the creation of the maximum Raman coherence in the six-level Λ system using optimal control theory. Optimal fields are designed for different initial conditions, resonant, and off-resonant, using the Krotov method including a reference field into the cost functional. Suppression of the population transfer to the intermediate level is achieved via an additional functional constraint which depends on the system dynamics. We demonstrate that the spectrum of the optimised fields has major contribution from the corresponding resonant frequencies independently of the choice of carrier frequency of the initial guess field. We also indicate that the pulse train emerges as a solution of the control problem of coherence optimisation in multi-level quantum systems.     

Observation of the Rabi oscillation of light driven by an atomic spin wave

Coherent conversion between a Raman pump field and its Stokes field is observed in a Raman process with a strong atomic spin wave initially prepared by another Raman process operated in the stimulated emission regime. The oscillatory behavior resembles the Rabi oscillation in atomic population in a two-level atomic system driven by a strong light field. The Rabi-like oscillation frequency is found to be related to the strength of the prebuilt atomic spin wave. High conversion efficiency of 40% from the Raman pump field to the Stokes field is recorded and it is independent of the input Raman pump field. This process can act as a photon frequency multiplexer and may find wide applications in quantum information science.     

Multiple-pulse coherence enhancement of solid state spin qubits

We describe how the spin coherence time of a localized electron spin in solids, i.e., a solid state spin qubit, can be prolonged by applying designed electron spin resonance pulse sequences. In particular, the spin echo decay due to the spectral diffusion of the electron spin resonance frequency induced by the non-Markovian temporal fluctuations of the nuclear spin flip-flop dynamics can be strongly suppressed using multiple-pulse sequences akin to the Carr-Purcell-Meiboom-Gill pulse sequence in nuclear magnetic resonance. Spin coherence time can be enhanced by factors of 4-10 in GaAs quantum-dot and Si:P quantum computer architectures using composite sequences with an even number of pulses.     

On the conversion of triple- to single-quantum coherences in MQMAS NMR

A systematic experimental and numerical evaluation of several basic approaches to multiple-quantum magic angle spinning (MQMAS) NMR is presented for spin-32 nuclei. The approaches use identical MQ excitation, via a single RF pulse of high power, and three types of methods for conversion to observable coherence: (a) nutation by strong continuous wave pulse; (b) rotation-induced adiabatic coherence transfer (RIACT), and (c) fast amplitude modulation (FAM-1). The optimization strategies and maximum achievable MQMAS efficiencies of (87)Rb in RbNO(3) and LiRbSO(4) are investigated using several coherence transfer schemes under a wide range of experimental parameters. These parameters include the strength of the RF magnetic field nu(RF), the sample rotation speed nu(R), the length of the conversion period, and the modulation frequency in FAM-1. The data provide new insights into the spin dynamics involved in these techniques and the experimental guidelines for achieving the best sensitivity. The RF requirements for maximum efficiency of conversion depend on the method to be used. In general, FAM-1 performs better than the nutation and RIACT methods in terms of efficiency and off-resonance behavior, especially when nu(RF) is small compared to the quadrupole frequency nu(Q). The experiments performed using nutation, RIACT, and FAM-1 methods yield similar resolution in the isotropic dimension, regardless of nu(RF).     

Proposed solar energy conversion and storage system using a nano-ring in an array waveguide

We propose the new solar energy conversion and storage system using the array waveguide. It can be used to generate and store solar energy within the nano-array waveguide system. The system consists of micro- and nano-ring resonators incorporating a Mach Zhender Interferometer (MZI) that can be integrated into a single system. The large bandwidth signal, i.e. white light, is generated using a soliton pulse in a Kerr-type nonlinear medium propagating within a micro-ring resonator system. The control light concept is applied using a nano-waveguide incorporating an MZI, whereas the incoherent light is filtered being coherence, which is amplified and stored within the system. The white light can be re-generated using the stored coherent light pulse. Furthermore, the combination of signals is formed by the array waveguide, which is allowed to generate the huge amount of solar energy output.     

Storage and release of femtosecond laser pulses in a resonant photonic crystal

Femtosecond laser pulses with suitable pulse areas are shown to decelerate and stop inside a resonant photonic crystal. The release of the stored fields can be achieved through pulse collision by use of an external optical pulse as a control field. The duty cycle efficiency of the storage and release of light is shown to be as much as 96%. The proposed technique is applied to a real photonic system with finite thickness of atomic layers.     

Dynamic control of photonic bandgap mediated by vacuum-induced coherence

We theoretically examine the storage and retrieval of a light pulse in a medium comprised of four-level atoms of the V − Λ-type. The two intermediate levels are probed by a weak field and vacuum-induced coherence effects lead the system to transparency. The temporal variation of the intermediate levels' splitting is used as an external parameter which allows the transfer of the impinging field to a combination of spin coherences. An auxiliary and far-detuned control field in a standing-wave configuration is used to induce a variable photonic bandgap by cross-phase modulation. It is shown that dynamic control of such a bandgap can be used to coherently manipulate the previously stored probe pulse. We use a general scheme to take into account multiwave mixing effects and solve the combined Maxwell-Bloch equations for the relevant coherences. It is shown that the system acts as an all-optical router.     

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.     

一维原子链局域等离激元的非线性激发

本文基于含时密度泛函理论, 研究了不同频率光脉冲场作用下一维钠原子链中电子的输运与等离激元共振之间的耦合规律. 在等离激元共振点附近约0.8 eV频率范围内的光脉冲场, 都可以激发体系的等离激元共振. 这些不同频率外场激发的等离激元共振强度大小在一个数量级. 外场频率越接近等离激元共振频率, 外场激起的等离激元振动的振幅越大. 对于线性原子链等离激元的非线性激发现象, 本文用经典谐振子模型给出了定性解释.     

Intermolecular multiple-quantum coherence NMR signals modulated by double distant dipolar fields

A modified CRAZED pulse sequence was applied to obtain the intermolecular multiple-quantum coherence NMR signals from double distant dipolar fields in highly polarized spin systems. Complete theoretical analyses were explicitly derived from the dipolar field treatment combined with product operator formalism. Two typical samples containing several different components were chosen for the experimental verifications. The computer simulations and experimental observations are consistent with the theoretical predictions. The results presented herein provide a convenient way to understand the combined effects of multiple distant dipolar fields from the different components in complicated chemical or biological solutions. When experimental conditions such as selective radio-frequency pulses are not optimal, it may be helpful to identify possible unexpected signals or artefacts of high-resolution NMR spectroscopy in inhomogeneous fields.