arXiv · quant-ph/0111058
Entanglement of internal and external angular momenta of a single atom
Abstract
We consider the exchange of spin and orbital angular momenta between a circularly polarized Laguerre-Gaussian beam of light and a single atom trapped in a two-dimensional harmonic potential. The radiation field is treated classically but the atomic center-of-mass motion is quantized. The spin and orbital angular momenta of the field are individually conserved upon absorption, and this results in the entanglement of the internal and external degrees of freedom of the atom. We suggest applications of this entanglement in quantum information processing.
Explore related subjects
Keep this discovery
Ashok Muthukrishnan, C. R. Stroud Jr. 2001-11-09. Entanglement of internal and external angular momenta of a single atom. https://doi.org/10.1088/1464-4266/4/2/371
Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.