arXiv subjects

Ite A. Yu

Publications and source records attributed to Ite A. Yu.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2020

Efficient frequency conversion based on resonant four-wave mixing

Efficient frequency conversion of photons has important applications in optical quantum technology because the frequency range suitable for photon manipulation and communication usually varies widely. Recently, an efficient frequency conversion system using a double-$Λ$ four-wave mixing (FWM) process based on electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) has attracted considerable attention because of its potential to achieve a nearly 100% conversion efficiency (CE). To obtain such a high CE, the spontaneous emission loss in this resonant-type FWM system must be suppressed considerably. A simple solution is to arrange the applied laser fields in a backward configuration. However, the phase mismatch due to this configuration can cause a significant decrease in CE. Here, we demonstrate that the phase mismatch can be effectively compensated by introducing the phase shift obtained by two-photon detuning. Under optimal conditions, we observe a wavelength conversion from 780 to 795 nm with a maximum CE of 91.2(6)% by using this backward FWM system at an optical depth of 130 in cold rubidium atoms. The current work represents an important step toward achieving low-loss, high-fidelity EIT-based quantum frequency conversion.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2020

Mean field theory of weakly-interacting Rydberg polaritons in the EIT system based on the nearest-neighbor distribution

The combination of high optical nonlinearity in the electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) effect and strong electric dipole-dipole interaction (DDI) among the Rydberg-state atoms can lead to important applications in quantum information processing and many-body physics. One can utilize the Rydberg-EIT system in the strongly-interacting regime to mediate photon-photon interaction or qubit-qubit operation. One can also employ the Rydberg-EIT system in the weaklyinteracting regime to study the Bose-Einstein condensation of Rydberg polaritons. Most of the present theoretical models dealt with the strongly-interacting cases. Here, we consider the weaklyinteracting regime and develop a mean field model based on the nearest-neighbor distribution. Using the mean field model, we further derive the analytical formulas for the attenuation coefficient and phase shift of the output probe field. The predictions from the formulas are consistent with the experimental data in the weakly-interacting regime, verifying the validity of our model. As the DDI-induced phase shift and attenuation can be seen as the consequences of elastic and inelastic collisions among particles, this work provides a very useful tool for conceiving ideas relevant to the EIT system of weakly-interacting Rydberg polaritons, and for evaluating experimental feasibility.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2020

Efficient Generation of Subnatural-Linewidth Biphotons by Controlled Quantum Interference

Biphotons of narrow bandwidth and long temporal length play a crucial role in long-distance quantum communication (LDQC) and linear optical quantum computing (LOQC). However, generation of these photons usually requires atomic ensembles with high optical depth or spontaneous parametric down-conversion with sophisticated optical cavity. By manipulating the two-component biphoton wavefunction generated from a low-optical-depth (low-OD) atomic ensemble, we demonstrate biphotons with subnatural linewidth in the sub-MHz regime. The potential of shaping and manipulating the quantum wavepackets of these temporally long photons is also demonstrated and discussed. Our work has potential applications in realizing quantum repeaters and large cluster states for LDQC and LOQC, respectively. The possibility to generate and manipulate subnatural-linewidth biphotons with low OD also opens up new opportunity to miniaturize the biphoton source for implementing quantum technologies on chip-scale quantum devices.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2019

Low-Loss High-Fidelity Frequency-Mode Hadamard Gates Based on Electromagnetically Induced Transparency

A frequency beam splitter (FBS) with the split ratio of 0.5 or 1 can be used as the frequency-mode Hadamard gate (FHG) for frequency-encoded photonic qubits or as the quantum frequency converter (QFC) for frequency up or down conversion of photons. Previous works revealed that all kinds of the FHG or QFC operating at the single-photon level had overall efficiency or output-to-input ratio around 50% or less. In this work, our FHG and QFC are made with the four-wave mixing process based on the dual-$Λ$ electromagnetically induced transparency scheme. We achieved an overall efficiency of 90$\pm$4% in the FGH and that of 84% in the QFC using coherent-state single photons, both of which are the best up-to-date records. To test the fidelity of the FBS, we propose a novel scheme of Hong-Ou-Mandel interference (HOMI) for quantum process tomography. The fidelity indicated by the HOMI's $g^{(2)}$ measurement of the FHG is 0.99$\pm$0.01. Such low-loss high-fidelity FHG and QFC or FBS with the tunable split ratio can lead to useful operations or devices in long-distance quantum communication.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2019

Generation of Quantum Entanglement based on Electromagnetically Induced Transparency Media

Quantum entanglement is an essential ingredient for the absolute security of quantum communication. Generation of continuous-variable entanglement or two-mode squeezing between light fields based on the effect of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) has been systematically investigated in this work. Here, we propose a new scheme to enhance the degree of entanglement between probe and coupling fields of coherent-state light by introducing a two-photon detuning in the EIT system. This proposed scheme is more efficient than the conventional one, utilizing the dephasing rate of ground-state coherence, i.e., the decoherence rate to produce entanglement or two-mode squeezing which adds far more excess fluctuation or noise to the system. In addition, maximum degree of entanglement at a given optical depth can be achieved with a wide range of the coupling Rabi frequency and the two-photon detuning, showing our scheme is robust and flexible. It is also interesting to note that while EIT is the effect in the perturbation limit, i.e. the probe field being much weaker than the coupling field and treated as a perturbation, there exists an optimum ratio of the probe to coupling intensities to achieve the maximum entanglement. Our proposed scheme can advance the continuous-variable-based quantum technology and may lead to applications in quantum communication utilizing squeezed light.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2019

Effect of laser frequency fluctuation on the decay rate of Rydberg coherence

The effect of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) combined with Rydberg-state atoms provides high optical nonlinearity to efficiently mediate the photon-photon interaction. However, the decay rate of Rydberg coherence, i.e., the decoherence rate, plays an important role in optical nonlinear efficiency, and can be largely influenced by laser frequency fluctuation. In this work, we carried out a systematic study of the effect of laser frequency fluctuation on the decoherence rate. We derived an analytical formula that quantitatively describes the relationship between the decoherence rate and laser frequency fluctuation. The formula was experimentally verified by using the $Λ$-type EIT system of laser-cooled $^{87}$Rb atoms, in which one can either completely eliminate or controllably introduce the effect of laser frequency fluctuation. We also included the effect of Doppler shift caused by the atomic thermal motion in the formula, which can be negligible in the $Λ$-type EIT experiment but significant in the Rydberg-EIT experiment. Utilizing the atoms of 350 $μ$K, we studied the decoherence rate in the Rydberg-EIT system involving with the state of $|32D_{5/2}\rangle$. The experimental data are consistent with the predictions from the formula. We were able to achieve a rather low decoherence rate of $2π\times$48 kHz at a moderate coupling Rabi frequency of $2π\times$4.3 MHz.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2018

Nonlinear quantum optics for spinor slow light

We investigate quantum nonlinear effects at a level of individual quanta in a double tripod atom-light coupling scheme involving two atomic Rydberg states. In such a scheme the slow light coherently coupled to strongly interacting Rydberg states represents a two-component or spinor light. The scheme provides additional possibilities for the control and manipulation of light quanta. A distinctive feature of the proposed setup is that it combines the spin-orbit coupling for the spinor slow light with an interaction between the photons, enabling generation of the second probe beam even when two-photon detuning is zero. Furthermore, the interaction between the photons can become repulsive if the one-photon detunings have opposite signs. This is different from a single ladder atom-light coupling scheme, in which the interaction between the photons is attractive for both positive and negative detunings, as long as the Rabi frequency of the control beam is not too large.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2018

Demonstration of spatial-light-modulation-based four-wave mixing in cold atoms

Long-distance quantum optical communications usually require efficient wave-mixing processes to convert the wavelengths of single photons. Many quantum applications based on electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) have been proposed and demonstrated at the single-photon level, such as quantum memories, all-optical transistors, and cross-phase modulations. However, EIT-based four-wave mixing (FWM) in a resonant double-$Λ$ configuration has a maximum conversion efficiency (CE) of 25% because of absorptive loss due to spontaneous emission. An improved scheme using spatially modulated intensities of two control fields has been theoretically proposed to overcome this conversion limit. In this study, we first demonstrate wavelength conversion from 780 to 795 nm with a 43% CE by using this scheme at an optical density (OD) of 19 in cold $^{87}$Rb atoms. According to the theoretical model, the CE in the proposed scheme can further increase to 96% at an OD of 240 under ideal conditions, thereby attaining an identical CE to that of the previous non resonant double-$Λ$ scheme at half the OD. This spatial-light-modulation-based FWM scheme can achieve a near-unity CE, thus providing an easy method of implementing an efficient quantum wavelength converter for all-optical quantum information processing.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2018

Highly efficient coherent optical memory based on electromagnetically induced transparency

Quantum memory is an important component in the long-distance quantum communication system based on the quantum repeater protocol. To outperform the direct transmission of photons with quantum repeaters, it is crucial to develop quantum memories with high fidelity, high efficiency and a long storage time. Here, we achieve a storage efficiency of 92.0(1.5)\% for a coherent optical memory based on the electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) scheme in optically dense cold atomic media. We also obtain a useful time-bandwidth product of 1200, considering only storage where the retrieval efficiency remains above 50\%. Both are the best record to date in all kinds of the schemes for the realization of optical memory. Our work significantly advances the pursuit of a high-performance optical memory and should have important applications in quantum information science.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2017

Optical Density-Enhanced Squeezed Light Generation without Optical Cavities

To achieve high degree of quantum noise squeezing, an optical cavity is often employed to enhance the interaction time between light and matter. Here, we propose to utilize the effect of coherent population trapping (CPT) to directly generate squeezed light without any optical cavity. Combined with the slow propagation speed of light in a CPT medium, a coherent state passing through an atomic ensemble with a high optical density (OD) can evolve into a highly squeezed state even in a single passage. Our study reveals that noise squeezing of more than $10$ dB can be achieved with an OD of 1,000, which is currently available in experiments. A larger OD can further increase the degree of squeezing. As the light intensity and two-photon detuning are key factors in the CPT interaction, we also demonstrate that the minimum variance at a given OD can be reached for a wide range of these two factors, showing the proposed scheme is flexible and robust. Furthermore, there is no need to consider the phase-matching condition in the CPT scheme. Our introduction of high OD in atomic media not only brings a long light-matter interaction time comparable to optical cavities, but also opens new avenue in the generation of squeezed light for quantum interface.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2017

Enhanced spectral profile in the study of Doppler-broadened Rydberg atoms

Combination of the electromagnetically-induced-transparency (EIT) effect and Rydberg-state atoms has attracted great attention recently due to its potential application in the photon-photon interaction or qubit operation. In this work, we studied the Rydberg-EIT spectra with room-temperature $^{87}$Rb atoms. Spectroscopic data under various experimental parameters all showed that the contrast of EIT transparency as a function of the probe intensity is initially enhanced, reaches a maximum value and then decays gradually. The contrast of spectral profile at the optimum probe field intensity is enhanced by $2-4$ times as compared with that at weak intensity. Moreover, the signal-to-noise ratio of the spectrum can potentially be improved by 1 or 2 order of magnitude. We provided a theoretical model to explain this behavior and clarified its underlying mechanism. Our work overcomes the obstacle of weak signal in the Rydberg-EIT spectrum caused by an apparent relaxation rate of the Rydberg polariton and weak coupling transition strength, and provides the useful knowledge for the Rydberg-EIT study.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2016

Setting a disordered password on a photonic memory

Encryption is a vital tool of information technology protecting our data in the world with ubiquitous computers. While photons are regarded as ideal information carriers, it is a must to implement such data protection on all-optical storage. However, the intrinsic risk of data breaches in existing schemes of photonic memory was never addressed. We theoretically demonstrate the first protocol using spatially disordered laser fields to encrypt data stored on an optical memory, namely, encrypted photonic memory. Compare with a digital key, a continuous disorder encrypts stored light pulses with a rather long key length against brute-force attacks. To address the broadband storage, we also investigate a novel scheme of disordered echo memory with a high fidelity approaching unity. Our results pave novel ways to encrypt different schemes of photonic memory based on quantum optics and raise the security level of photonic information technology.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2016

Large Cross-Phase Modulations at the Few-Photon Level

We demonstrate an efficient cross-phase modulation (XPM) based on a closed-loop double-Λ system. The property of the double-Λ medium can be controlled by changing the phases of the applied optical fields. This phase-dependent XPM scheme can achieve large phase modulations at low-light intensities without requiring cavities or tightly focusing of laser beams. With this scheme, we observe a π-level phase shift with two pulses both consisting of 8 photons in cold rubidium atoms. Such novel scheme provides a simple route to generate strong interactions between photons and may have potential applications in all-optical quantum signal processing.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2014

Experimental demonstration of spinor slow light

Slow light based on the effect of electromagnetically induced transparency is of great interest due to its applications in low-light-level nonlinear optics and quantum information manipulation. The previous experiments all dealt with the single-component slow light. Here we report the experimental demonstration of two-component or spinor slow light using a double tripod atom-light coupling scheme. The scheme involves three atomic ground states coupled to two excited states by six light fields. The oscillation due to the interaction between the two components was observed. Based on the stored light, our data showed that the double tripod scheme behaves like the two outcomes of an interferometer enabling precision measurements of frequency detuning. We experimentally demonstrated a possible application of the double tripod scheme as quantum memory/rotator for the two-color qubit. Our study also suggests that the spinor slow light is a better method than a widely-used scheme in the nonlinear frequency conversion.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2014

Non-separated states from squeezed dark-state polaritons in electromagnetically-induced-transparency media

Within the frame of quantized dark-state polaritons in electromagnetically-induced-transparency media, noise fluctuations in the quadrature components are studied. Squeezed state transfer, quantum correlation, and noise entanglement between probe field and atomic polarization are demonstrated in single- and double-$Λ$ configurations, respectively. Even though a larger degree of squeezing parameter in the continuous variable helps to establish stronger quantum correlations, inseparability criterion is satisfied only within a finite range of squeezing parameter. The results obtained in the present study may be useful for guiding experimental realization of quantum memory devices for possible applications in quantum information and computation.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2014

Phase-dependent double-Λ electromagnetically induced transparency

We theoretically investigate a double-Λ electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) system. The property of the double-Λ medium with a closed-loop configuration depends on the relative phase of the applied laser fields. This phase-dependent mechanism differentiates the double-Λ medium from the conventional Kerr-based nonlinear medium, e.g., EIT-based nonlinear medium discussed by Harris and Hau [Phys. Rev. Lett. 82, 4611 (1999)], which depends only on the intensities of the applied laser fields. Steady-state analytical solutions for the phase-dependent system are obtained by solving the Maxwell-Bloch equations. In addition, we discuss efficient all-optical phase modulation and coherent light amplification based on the proposed double-Λ EIT scheme.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2014

Radiation trapping inside a hollow-core photonic crystal fiber

We report the radiation trapping effect inside a hollow-core photonic crystal fiber (PCF). An optical dipole trap was used to load and confine the atoms in the PCF without contacting the wall of the fiber. The transmission of a probe light propagating through the PCF was studied experimentally and theoretically. With the experimental results and theoretical predictions, we conclude that the radiation trapping can play a significant role and should be taken into account in the spectroscopic measurements inside the PCF.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2014

Low-light-level four-wave mixing by quantum interference

We observed electromagnetically-induced-transparency-based four-wave mixing (FWM) in the pulsed regime at low light levels. The FWM conversion efficiency of 3.8(9)% was observed in a four-level system of cold 87Rb atoms using a driving laser pulse with a peak intensity of approximately 80 μW/cm^2, corresponding to an energy of approximately 60 photons per atomic cross section. Comparison between the experimental data and the theoretical predictions proposed by Harris and Hau [Phys. Rev. Lett. 82, 4611 (1999)] showed good agreement. Additionally, a high conversion efficiency of 46(2)% was demonstrated when applying this scheme using a driving laser intensity of approximately 1.8 mW/cm^2. According to our theoretical predictions, this FWM scheme can achieve a conversion efficiency of nearly 100% when using a dense medium with an optical depth of 500.

quant-ph↗