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E. S. Polzik

Publications and source records attributed to E. S. Polzik.

52 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

High fidelity teleportation between light and atoms

We show how high fidelity quantum teleportation of light to atoms can be achieved in the same setup as was used in the recent experiment [J. Sherson et.al., quant-ph/0605095, accepted by Nature], where such an inter-species quantum state transfer was demonstrated for the first time. Our improved protocol takes advantage of the rich multimode entangled structure of the state of atoms and scattered light and requires simple post-processing of homodyne detection signals and squeezed light in order to achieve fidelities up to 90% (85%) for teleportation of coherent (qubit) states under realistic experimental conditions. The remaining limitation is due to atomic decoherence and light losses.

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Generation of a superposition of odd photon number states for quantum information networks

We report on the experimental observation of quantum-network-compatible light described by a non-positive Wigner function. The state is generated by photon subtraction from a squeezed vacuum state produced by a continuous wave optical parametric amplifier. Ideally, the state is a coherent superposition of odd photon number states, closely resembling a superposition of weak coherent states (a Schroedinger cat), with the leading contribution from a single photon state in the low parametric gain limit. Light is generated in a nearly perfect spatial mode with a Fourier-limited frequency bandwidth which matches well atomic quantum memory requirements. The source is also characterized by high spectral brightness with about 10,000 and more events per second routinely generated. The generated state of light is the ultimate input state for testing quantum memories, quantum repeaters and linear optics quantum computers.

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Deterministic atom-light quantum interface

The notion of an atom-light quantum interface has been developed in the past decade, to a large extent due to demands within the new field of quantum information processing and communication. A promising type of such interface using large atomic ensembles has emerged in the past several years. In this article we review this area of research with a special emphasis on deterministic high fidelity quantum information protocols. Two recent experiments, entanglement of distant atomic objects and quantum memory for light are described in detail.

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Teleportation and spin squeezing utilizing multimode entanglement of light with atoms

We present a protocol for the teleportation of the quantum state of a pulse of light onto the collective spin state of an atomic ensemble. The entangled state of light and atoms employed as a resource in this protocol is created by probing the collective atomic spin, Larmor precessing in an external magnetic field, off resonantly with a coherent pulse of light. We take here for the first time full account of the effects of Larmor precession and show that it gives rise to a qualitatively new type of multimode entangled state of light and atoms. The protocol is shown to be robust against the dominating sources of noise and can be implemented with an atomic ensemble at room temperature interacting with free space light. We also provide a scheme to perform the readout of the Larmor precessing spin state enabling the verification of successful teleportation as well as the creation of spin squeezing.

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Single-passage read-out of atomic quantum memory

A scheme for retrieving quantum information stored in collective atomic spin systems onto optical pulses is presented. Two off-resonant light pulses cross the atomic medium in two orthogonal directions and are interferometrically recombined in such a way that one of the outputs carries most of the information stored in the medium. In contrast to previous schemes our approach requires neither multiple passes through the medium nor feedback on the light after passing the sample which makes the scheme very efficient. The price for that is some added noise which is however small enough for the method to beat the classical limits.

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Conditions for spin squeezing in a cold 87Rb ensemble

We study the conditions for generating spin squeezing via a quantum non-demolition measurement in an ensemble of cold 87Rb atoms. By considering the interaction of atoms in the 5S_{1/2}(F=1) ground state with probe light tuned near the D2 transition, we show that, for large detunings, this system is equivalent to a spin-1/2 system when suitable Zeeman substates and quantum operators are used to define a pseudo-spin. The degree of squeezing is derived for the rubidium system in the presence of scattering causing decoherence and loss. We describe how the system can decohere and lose atoms, and predict as much as 75% spin squeezing for atomic densities typical of optical dipole traps.

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Multimode entanglement of light and atomic ensembles via off-resonant coherent forward scattering

Quantum theoretical treatment of coherent forward scattering of light in a polarized atomic ensemble with an arbitrary angular momentum is developed. We consider coherent forward scattering of a weak radiation field interacting with a realistic multi-level atomic transition. Based on the concept of an effective Hamiltonian and on the Heisenberg formalism, we discuss the coupled dynamics of the quantum fluctuations of the polarization Stokes components of propagating light and of the collective spin fluctuations of the scattering atoms. We show that in the process of coherent forward scattering this dynamics can be described in terms of a polariton-type spin wave created in the atomic sample. Our work presents a general example of entangling process in the system of collective quantum states of light and atomic angular momenta, previously considered only for the case of spin-1/2 atoms. We use the developed general formalism to test the applicability of spin-1/2 approximation for modelling the quantum non-demolishing measurement of atoms with a higher angular momentum.

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Quantum benchmark for storage and transmission of coherent states

We consider the storage and transmission of a Gaussian distributed set of coherent states of continuous variable systems. We prove a limit on the average fidelity achievable when the states are transmitted or stored by a classical channel, i.e., a measure and repreparation scheme which sends or stores classical information only. The obtained bound is tight and serves as a benchmark which has to be surpassed by quantum channels in order to outperform any classical strategy. The success in experimental demonstrations of quantum memories as well as quantum teleportation has to be judged on this footing.

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Distant Entanglement of Macroscopic Gas Samples

One of the main ingredients in most quantum information protocols is a reliable source of two entangled systems. Such systems have been generated experimentally several years ago for light but has only in the past few years been demonstrated for atomic systems. None of these approaches however involve two atomic systems situated in separate environments. This is necessary for the creation of entanglement over arbitrary distances which is required for many quantum information protocols such as atomic teleportation. We present an experimental realization of such distant entanglement based on an adaptation of the entanglement of macroscopic gas samples containing about 10^11 cesium atoms shown previously by our group. The entanglement is generated via the off-resonant Kerr interaction between the atomic samples and a pulse of light. The achieved entanglement distance is 0.35m but can be scaled arbitrarily. The feasibility of an implementation of various quantum information protocols using macroscopic samples of atoms has therefore been greatly increased. We also present a theoretical modeling in terms of canonical position and momentum operators X and P describing the entanglement generation and verification in presence of decoherence mechanisms.

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Light-Matter Quantum Interface

We propose a quantum interface which applies multiple passes of a pulse of light through an atomic sample with phase/polarization rotations in between the passes. Our proposal does not require nonclassical light input or measurements on the system, and it predicts rapidly growing unconditional entanglement of light and atoms from just coherent inputs. The proposed interface makes it possible to achieve a number of tasks within quantum information processing including teleportation between light and atoms, quantum memory for light and squeezing of atomic and light variables.

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Diffraction effects on light-atomic ensemble quantum interface

We present a simple method to include the effects of diffraction into the description of a light-atomic ensemble quantum interface in the context of collective variables. Carrying out a scattering calculation we single out the purely geometrical effect. We apply our method to the experimentally relevant case of Gaussian shaped atomic samples stored in single beam optical dipole traps and probed by a Gaussian beam. We derive analytical scaling relations for the effect of the interaction geometry and compare our findings to results from 1-dimensional models of light propagation.

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Characterizing the spin state of an atomic ensemble using the magneto-optical resonance method

Quantum information protocols utilizing atomic ensembles require preparation of a coherent spin state (CSS) of the ensemble as an important starting point. We investigate the magneto-optical resonance method for characterizing a spin state of cesium atoms in a paraffin coated vapor cell. Atoms in a constant magnetic field are subject to an off-resonant laser beam and an RF magnetic field. The spectrum of the Zeeman sub-levels, in particular the weak quadratic Zeeman effect, enables us to measure the spin orientation, the number of atoms, and the transverse spin coherence time. Notably the use of 894nm pumping light on the D1-line, ensuring the state F=4, m_F=4 to be a dark state, helps us to achieve spin orientation of better than 98%. Hence we can establish a CSS with high accuracy which is critical for the analysis of the entangled states of atoms.

quant-ph↗

Generation of Superposition Spin States in an Atomic Ensemble

A method for generating a mesoscopic superposition state of the collective spin variable of a gas of atoms is proposed. The state consists of a superposition of the atomic spins pointing in two slightly different directions. It is obtained by using off resonant light to carry out Quantum Non Demolition Measurements of the spins. The relevant experimental conditions, which require very dense atomic samples, can be realized with presently available techniques. Long-lived atomic superposition states may become useful as an off-line resource for quantum computing with otherwise linear operations.

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Mapping a quantum state of light onto a long-lived atomic spin state: towards quantum memory

We report an experiment on mapping a quantum state of light onto the ground state spin of an ensemble of Cs atoms with the life time of 2 milliseconds. Quantum memory for one of the two quadrature phase operators of light is demonstrated with vacuum and squeezed states of light. The sensitivity of the mapping procedure at the level of approximately one photon/sec per Hz is shown. The results pave the road towards complete (storing both quadrature phase observables) quantum memory for Gaussian states of light. The experiment also sheds new light on fundamental limits of sensitivity of the magneto-optical resonance method.

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Quantum communication between atomic ensembles using coherent light

Protocols for quantum communication between massive particles, such as atoms, are usually based on transmitting nonclassical light, and/or super-high finesse optical cavities are normally needed to enhance interaction between atoms and photons. We demonstrate a surprising result: an unknown quantum state can be teleported from one free-space atomic ensemble to the other by transmitting only coherent light. No non-classical light and no cavities are needed in the scheme, which greatly simplifies its experimental implementation.

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Atomic Quantum State Teleportation and Swapping

A set of protocols for atomic quantum state teleportation and swapping utilizing Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen light is proposed. The protocols are suitable for collective spin states of a macroscopic sample of atoms, i.e. for continuous atomic variables. Feasibility of experimental realization for teleportation of a gas sample of atoms is analyzed.

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