arXiv subjects

A. Kuzmich

Publications and source records attributed to A. Kuzmich.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2025

Field energy and angular momentum in spontaneous emission: A Schrödinger-picture approach

A Schrödinger-picture approach is used to calculate the field energy and angular momentum radiated by an atom undergoing spontaneous emission. The calculation is carried out using both the rotating-wave approximation (RWA) and Weisskopf-Wigner approximation (WWA). It is shown that a consistent application of the WWA leads to expressions for both the energy and angular momentum in the field that are finite for all times, in contrast to the results for a classical point dipole oscillator. Moreover, it is shown that the total angular momentum in the field is a sum of its spin and orbital components, again in contrast to the analogous results for a classical point dipole oscillator. Analytic expressions for the energy, spin angular momentum, and orbital angular momentum in the field are obtained for an atom undergoing spontaneous emission from a state having angular momentum H to a state having angular momentum G via an electric dipole transition. It is shown that the spin and orbital angular momenta in the field are equal, independent of the values of H and G. With a slight modification of the WWA, it can also be shown that the energy density in the field, the Poynting vector of the field, and the angular momentum flux of the field do not diverge at the origin.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2013

Magnetic dipole and electric quadrupole moments of the 229Th nucleus

We calculate the A and B hyperfine constants for the low-lying states of 229Th3+ using a high-precision relativistic all-order approach. By combining these calculations with measurements of the 6d and 5f hyperfine constants [C. J. Campbell et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 106, 223001 (2011)], we determine the magnetic dipole μ=0.360(7)μ_B and the electric-quadrupole Q=3.11(6) eb moments of the 229Th nucleus. Our value for μis five times more accurate and is 22% smaller than the best previous value μ=0.46(4) μ_B [S. Gerstenkorn et al., J. Phys. (Paris) 35, 483 (1974)], while our value for Q is the same, but 2.5 times more accurate than the 2011 result. A systematic study of hyperfine structure in eight other monovalent atoms supports our claim of 2% level uncertainty for $μ$ and Q in 229Th+3.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2012

Observation of the 717 nm electric quadrupole transition in triply charged thorium

We excite the 717 nm electric quadrupole 6$D_{3/2} $ $\leftrightarrow$ 7$S_{1/2}$ transition in a laser-cooled $^{232}$Th$^{3+}$ ion crystal. The transition frequency and the lifetime of the metastable 7$S_{1/2}$ level are measured to be 417 845 964(30) MHz and 0.60(7) s, respectively. We subsequently employ the 7$S_{1/2}$ level to drive the ions with nanosecond-long 269 nm laser pulses into the 7$P_{1/2}$ level. The latter is connected to the 7$S_{1/2}$ electronic level within the $^{229}$Th nuclear isomer manifold by the strongest available electron-bridge transition, forming a basis for its laser excitation.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2012

Emergence of spatial spin-wave correlations in a cold atomic gas

Rydberg spin waves are optically excited in a quasi-one-dimensional atomic sample of Rb atoms. Pair-wise spin-wave correlations are observed by a spatially selective transfer of the quantum state onto a light field and photoelectric correlation measurements of the light. The correlations are interpreted in terms of the dephasing of multiply-excited spin waves by long-range Rydberg interactions.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2012

Observation of coherent many-body Rabi oscillations

A two-level quantum system coherently driven by a resonant electromagnetic field oscillates sinusoidally between the two levels at frequency $Ω$ which is proportional to the field amplitude [1]. This phenomenon, known as the Rabi oscillation, has been at the heart of atomic, molecular and optical physics since the seminal work of its namesake and coauthors [2]. Notably, Rabi oscillations in isolated single atoms or dilute gases form the basis for metrological applications such as atomic clocks and precision measurements of physical constants [3]. Both inhomogeneous distribution of coupling strength to the field and interactions between individual atoms reduce the visibility of the oscillation and may even suppress it completely. A remarkable transformation takes place in the limit where only a single excitation can be present in the sample due to either initial conditions or atomic interactions: there arises a collective, many-body Rabi oscillation at a frequency $N^0.5Ω$ involving all N >> 1 atoms in the sample [4]. This is true even for inhomogeneous atom-field coupling distributions, where single-atom Rabi oscillations may be invisible. When one of the two levels is a strongly interacting Rydberg level, many-body Rabi oscillations emerge as a consequence of the Rydberg excitation blockade. Lukin and coauthors outlined an approach to quantum information processing based on this effect [5]. Here we report initial observations of coherent many-body Rabi oscillations between the ground level and a Rydberg level using several hundred cold rubidium atoms. The strongly pronounced oscillations indicate a nearly complete excitation blockade of the entire mesoscopic ensemble by a single excited atom. The results pave the way towards quantum computation and simulation using ensembles of atoms.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2011

Dephasing of multiparticle Rydberg excitations for fast entanglement generation

An approach to fast entanglement generation based on Rydberg dephasing of collective excitations (spin-waves) in large, optically thick atomic ensembles is proposed. Long-range $1/r^3$ atomic interactions are induced by microwave mixing of opposite-parity Rydberg states. Required long coherence times are achieved via four-photon excitation and read-out of long wavelength spin-waves. The dephasing mechanism is shown to have favorable, approximately exponential, scaling for entanglement generation.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2011

Wigner Crystals of 229Th for Optical Excitation of the Nuclear Isomer

We have produced laser-cooled Wigner crystals of 229Th3+ in a linear Paul trap. The magnetic dipole (A) and electric quadrupole (B) hyperfine constants for four low-lying electronic levels and the relative isotope shifts with respect to 232Th3+ for three low-lying optical transitions are measured. Using the hyperfine B constants in conjunction with prior atomic structure calculations, a new value of the spectroscopic nuclear electric quadrupole moment Q = 3.11(16) eb is deduced. These results are a step towards optical excitation of the low-lying isomer level in the 229Th nucleus.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2011

A Single-Ion Nuclear Clock for Metrology at the 19th Decimal Place

The 7.6(5) eV nuclear magnetic-dipole transition in a single 229Th3+ ion may provide the foundation for an optical clock of superb accuracy. A virtual clock transition composed of stretched states within the 5F5/2 electronic ground level of both nuclear ground and isomeric manifolds is proposed. It is shown to offer unprecedented systematic shift suppression, allowing for clock performance with a total fractional inaccuracy approaching 1 x 10^-19.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2010

Entanglement of light-shift compensated atomic spin waves with telecom light

Entanglement of a 795 nm light polarization qubit and an atomic Rb spin wave qubit for a storage time of 0.1 s is observed by measuring the violation of Bell's inequality (S = 2.65 \pm 0.12). Long qubit storage times are achieved by pinning the spin wave in a 1064 nm wavelength optical lattice, with a magic-valued magnetic field superposed to eliminate lattice-induced dephasing. Four-wave mixing in a cold Rb gas is employed to perform light qubit conversion between near infra red (795 nm) and telecom (1367 nm) wavelengths, and after propagation in a telecom fiber, to invert the conversion process. Observed Bell inequality violation (S = 2.66 \pm 0.09), at 10 ms storage, confirms preservation of memory/light entanglement through the two stages of light qubit frequency conversion.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2010

Light storage in a magnetically-dressed optical lattice

Differential Stark shift compensation for ground state $^{87}$Rb atoms trapped in an elliptically polarized optical lattice and "magic" magnetic field, was recently proposed and demonstrated experimentally by N. Lundblad {\it et al.}, arXiv:0912.1528 and analyzed theoretically by A. Derevianko, arXiv:0912.3233. Here we demonstrate for the first time enhanced hyperfine coherence times using the magic field technique. We observe coherent light storage with a 0.32 s lifetime in an atomic Rb gas confined in a one dimensional optical lattice and magnetic field.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2007

Multiplexed Memory-Insensitive Quantum Repeaters

Long-distance quantum communication via distant pairs of entangled quantum bits (qubits) is the first step towards more secure message transmission and distributed quantum computing. To date, the most promising proposals require quantum repeaters to mitigate the exponential decrease in communication rate due to optical fiber losses. However, these are exquisitely sensitive to the lifetimes of their memory elements. We propose a multiplexing of quantum nodes that should enable the construction of quantum networks that are largely insensitive to the coherence times of the quantum memory elements.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2006

Dual species matter qubit entangled with light

We propose and demonstrate an atomic qubit based on a cold $^{85}$Rb-$^{87}$Rb isotopic mixture, entangled with a frequency-encoded optical qubit. The interface of an atomic qubit with a single spatial light mode, and the ability to independently address the two atomic qubit states, should provide the basic element of an interferometrically robust quantum network.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2006

Quantum interference of electromagnetic fields from remote quantum memories

We observe quantum, Hong-Ou-Mandel, interference of fields produced by two remote atomic memories. High-visibility interference is obtained by utilizing the finite atomic memory time in four-photon delayed coincidence measurements. Interference of fields from remote atomic memories is a crucial element in protocols for scalable generation of multi-node remote qubit entanglement.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2006

Deterministic single photons via conditional quantum evolution

A source of deterministic single photons is proposed and demonstrated by the application of a measurement-based feedback protocol to a heralded single photon source consisting of an ensemble of cold rubidium atoms. Our source is stationary and produces a photoelectric detection record with sub-Poissonian statistics.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2006

Quantum telecommunication based on atomic cascade transitions

A quantum repeater at telecommunications wavelengths with long-lived atomic memory is proposed, and its critical elements are experimentally demonstrated using a cold atomic ensemble. Via atomic cascade emission, an entangled pair of 1530 nm and 780 nm photons is generated. The former is ideal for long-distance quantum communication, and the latter is naturally suited for mapping to a long-lived atomic memory. Together with our previous demonstration of photonic-to-atomic qubit conversion, both of the essential elements for the proposed telecommunications quantum repeater have now been realized.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2005

Storage and retrieval of single photons transmitted between remote quantum memories

An elementary quantum network operation involves storing a qubit state in an atomic quantum memory node, and then retrieving and transporting the information through a single photon excitation to a remote quantum memory node for further storage or analysis. Implementations of quantum network operations are thus conditioned on the ability to realize such matter-to-light and/or light-to-matter quantum state mappings. Here, we report generation, transmission, storage and retrieval of single quanta using two remote atomic ensembles. A single photon is generated from a cold atomic ensemble at Site A via the protocol of Duan, Lukin, Cirac, and Zoller (DLCZ) [Nature v.414, 413 (2001)] and is directed to Site B through a 100 meter long optical fiber. The photon is converted into a single collective excitation via the dark-state polariton approach of Fleischhauer and Lukin [Phys. Rev. Lett. v.84, 5094 (2000)]. After a programmable storage time the atomic excitation is converted back into a single photon. This is demonstrated experimentally, for a storage time of 500 nanoseconds, by measurement of an anticorrelation parameter a. Storage times exceeding ten microseconds are observed by intensity cross-correlation measurements. The length of the storage period is two orders of magnitude longer than the time to achieve conversion between photonic and atomic quanta. The controlled transfer of single quanta between remote quantum memories constitutes an important step towards distributed quantum networks.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2005

Theory of dark-state polariton collapses and revivals

We investigate the dynamics of dark-state polaritons in an atomic ensemble with ground-state degeneracy. A signal light pulse may be stored and retrieved from the atomic sample by adiabatic variation of the amplitude of a control field. During the storage process, a magnetic field causes rotation of the atomic hyperfine coherences, leading to collapses and revivals of the dark-state polariton number. These collapses and revivals should be observable in measurements of the retrieved signal field, as a function of storage time and magnetic field orientation.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2005

Entanglement of remote atomic qubits

We report observations of entanglement of two remote atomic qubits, achieved by generating an entangled state of an atomic qubit and a single photon at Site A, transmitting the photon to Site B in an adjacent laboratory through an optical fiber, and converting the photon into an atomic qubit. Entanglement of the two remote atomic qubits is inferred by performing, locally, quantum state transfer of each of the atomic qubits onto a photonic qubit and subsequent measurement of polarization correlations in violation of the Bell inequality |S| <2. We experimentally determine S =2.16 +/- 0.03. Entanglement of two remote atomic qubits, each qubit consisting of two independent spin wave excitations, and reversible, coherent transfer of entanglement between matter and light, represent important advances in quantum information science.

quant-ph↗