Quantum networks are distributed quantum many-body systems with tailored topology and controlled information exchange. They are the backbone of distributed quantum computing architectures and quantum communication. Here we present a prototype of such a quantum network based on single atoms embedded in optical cavities. We show that atom-cavity systems form universal nodes capable of sending, receiving, storing and releasing photonic quantum information. Quantum connectivity between nodes is achieved in the conceptually most fundamental way: by the coherent exchange of a single photon. We demonstrate the faithful transfer of an atomic quantum state and the creation of entanglement between two identical nodes in independent laboratories. The created nonlocal state is manipulated by local qubit rotation. This efficient cavity-based approach to quantum networking is particularly promising as it offers a clear perspective for scalability, thus paving the way towards large-scale quantum networks and their applications.Connecting individual quantum systems via quantum channels creates a quantum network with properties profoundly different from any classical network. First, the accessible state space increases exponentially with the number of constituents. Second, the distribution of quantum states across the whole network leads to nonlocal correlations. Further, the quantum channels mediate long-range or even infinite-range interactions which can be switched on and off at will. This makes quantum networks tailor-made quantum many-body systems with adjustable degrees of connectivity and arbitrary topologies, and thus powerful quantum simulators. Open questions like the scaling behaviour, percolation of entanglement [1], multi-partite entanglement [2,3] and quantum phase transitions [4-6] make quantum networks a prime theme of current theoretical and experimental research. Similarly, quantum networks form the basis of quantum communication and distributed quantum information processing architectures, with interactions taking the form of quantum logic gates [7][8][9][10].The physical implementation of quantum networks requires suitable channels and nodes. Photonic channels are well-advanced transmitters of quantum information. Optical photons can carry quantum information over long distances with almost negligible decoherence and are compatible with existing telecommunication fibre technology. The versatility of quantum networks, however, is largely defined by the capability of the network nodes. Dedicated tasks like quantum key distribution can already be achieved using send-only emitter nodes and receive-only detector nodes [11]. However, in order to fully exploit the capabilities of quantum networks, functional network nodes are required which are able to send, receive and store quantum information reversibly and efficiently.The implementation and connection of quantum nodes is a major challenge and different approaches are currently being pursued. An intensely studied example are ensembles of gas-phase atoms [12][13][...

The faithful storage of a quantum bit (qubit) of light is essential for long-distance quantum communication, quantum networking and distributed quantum computing. The required optical quantum memory must be able to receive and recreate the photonic qubit; additionally, it must store an unknown quantum state of light better than any classical device. So far, these two requirements have been met only by ensembles of material particles that store the information in collective excitations. Recent developments, however, have paved the way for an approach in which the information exchange occurs between single quanta of light and matter. This single-particle approach allows the material qubit to be addressed, which has fundamental advantages for realistic implementations. First, it enables a heralding mechanism that signals the successful storage of a photon by means of state detection; this can be used to combat inevitable losses and finite efficiencies. Second, it allows for individual qubit manipulations, opening up avenues for in situ processing of the stored quantum information. Here we demonstrate the most fundamental implementation of such a quantum memory, by mapping arbitrary polarization states of light into and out of a single atom trapped inside an optical cavity. The memory performance is tested with weak coherent pulses and analysed using full quantum process tomography. The average fidelity is measured to be 93%, and low decoherence rates result in qubit coherence times exceeding 180  microseconds. This makes our system a versatile quantum node with excellent prospects for applications in optical quantum gates and quantum repeaters.

We produce a 600-ns pulse of 1.86-dB squeezed vacuum at 795 nm in an optical parametric amplifier and store it in a rubidium vapor cell for 1 mus using electromagnetically induced transparency. The recovered pulse, analyzed using time-domain homodyne tomography, exhibits up to 0.21+/-0.04 dB of squeezing. We identify the factors leading to the degradation of squeezing and investigate the phase evolution of the atomic coherence during the storage interval.

Optical nonlinearities offer unique possibilities for the control of light with light. A prominent example is electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT), where the transmission of a probe beam through an optically dense medium is manipulated by means of a control beam. Scaling such experiments into the quantum domain with one (or just a few) particles of light and matter will allow for the implementation of quantum computing protocols with atoms and photons, or the realization of strongly interacting photon gases exhibiting quantum phase transitions of light. Reaching these aims is challenging and requires an enhanced matter-light interaction, as provided by cavity quantum electrodynamics. Here we demonstrate EIT with a single atom quasi-permanently trapped inside a high-finesse optical cavity. The atom acts as a quantum-optical transistor with the ability to coherently control the transmission of light through the cavity. We investigate the scaling of EIT when the atom number is increased one-by-one. The measured spectra are in excellent agreement with a theoretical model. Merging EIT with cavity quantum electrodynamics and single quanta of matter is likely to become the cornerstone for novel applications, such as dynamic control of the photon statistics of propagating light fields or the engineering of Fock state superpositions of flying light pulses.

The technologies of quantum information and quantum control are rapidly improving, but full exploitation of their capabilities requires complete characterization and assessment of processes that occur within quantum devices. We present a method for characterizing, with arbitrarily high accuracy, any quantum optical process. Our protocol recovers complete knowledge of the process by studying, via homodyne tomography, its effect on a set of coherent states, that is, classical fields produced by common laser sources. We demonstrate the capability of our protocol by evaluating and experimentally verifying the effect of a test process on squeezed vacuum.