Observation and Measurement of Interaction-Induced Dispersive Optical Nonlinearities in an Ensemble of Cold Rydberg Atoms

Parigi, Valentina; Bimbard, Erwan; Stanojevic, Jovica; Hilliard, Andrew J.; Nogrette, Florence; Tualle-Brouri, Rosa; Ourjoumtsev, Alexei; Grangier, Philippe

doi:10.1103/physrevlett.109.233602

Cited by 144 publications

(168 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…Our approach is to couple a light field propagating in a dispersive medium to highly excited atomic states with strong mutual interactions (Rydberg states) 13,14 . Similar to previous studies of quantum nonlinearities via Rydberg states that were based on dissipation [15][16][17][18][19] rather than dispersion 20 , we make use of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) to slow down the propagation of light 21 in a cold atomic gas. By operating in a dispersive regime away from the intermediate atomic resonance (Fig.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Attractive photons in a quantum nonlinear medium

Firstenberg¹,

Peyronel²,

Liang³

et al. 2013

Nature

418

493

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* These authors contributed equally to this workThe fundamental properties of light derive from its constituent particles (photons) that are massless and do not interact with one another 1 . At the same time, it has been long known that the realization of coherent interactions between individual photons, akin to those associated with conventional massive particles, could enable a wide variety of unique scientific and engineering applications 2,3 . Here, by coupling light to strongly interacting atomic Rydberg states in a dispersive regime, we demonstrate a quantum nonlinear medium inside which individual photons travel as massive particles with strong mutual attraction, such that the propagation of photon pairs is dominated by a two-photon bound state 4-7 . We measure the dynamical evolution of the two-photon wavefunction using time-resolved quantum state tomography, and demonstrate a conditional phase shift 8 exceeding one radian, resulting in polarization-entangled photon pairs. Unique applications include all-optical switching, deterministic photonic quantum logic, and the generation of strongly correlated states of light 9 .Interactions between individual photons are being explored in cavity quantum electrodynamics, where a single, confined electromagnetic mode is coupled to an atomic system 10-12 . Our approach is to couple a light field propagating in a dispersive medium to highly excited atomic states with strong mutual interactions (Rydberg states) 13,14 . Similar to previous studies of quantum nonlinearities via Rydberg states that were based on dissipation 15-19 rather than dispersion 20 , we make use of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) to slow down the propagation of light 21 in a cold atomic gas. By operating in a dispersive regime away from the intermediate atomic resonance (Fig. 1b), where atomic absorption is low and only weakly nonlinear 22 , we realize a situation where Rydberg-atom-mediated coherent interactions between individual photons dominate the propagation dynamics of weak light pulses. Previous theoretical studies have proposed various scenarios for inducing strong interactions between individual photons 2,3,23 and for creating bound states of a few quanta 4,5,7,24 , a feature generic to strongly interacting quantum field theories. The first experimental realization of a photonic system with strong attractive interactions, including evidence for a predicted two-photon bound state, represents the main result of this work.Our experiment (outlined in Fig. 1a) makes use of an ultracold rubidium gas loaded into a dipole trap, as described previously 19 . The probe light of interest is σ + polarized, coupling the ground state |g to the Rydberg state |r via an intermediate state |e of linewidth Γ/(2π) = 6.1 MHz by means of a control field that is detuned by ∆ below the resonance frequency of the upper transition |e → |r (Fig. 1b). Under these conditions, for a very weak probe field with mean incident photon rate R i = 0.5 µs −1 , EIT is established when the probe detuning matches...

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mentioning

confidence: 99%

Attractive photons in a quantum nonlinear medium

Firstenberg¹,

Peyronel²,

Liang³

et al. 2013

Nature

418

493

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“…By detuning from the intermediate state, the dissipative character of the effective polariton-polariton interactions can be suppressed while maintaining the giant nonlinearities [100]. This would give rise to elastic scattering of DSPs, providing means to implement deterministic photonic quantum logic gates [101,102].…”

Section: B Sub-poissonian Counting Statistics Of Strongly-interactinmentioning

confidence: 99%

An experimental approach for investigating many-body phenomena in Rydberg-interacting quantum systems

et al. 2013

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Recent developments in the study of ultracold Rydberg gases demand an advanced level of experimental sophistication, in which high atomic and optical densities must be combined with excellent control of external fields and sensitive Rydberg atom detection. We describe a tailored experimental system used to produce and study Rydberg-interacting atoms excited from dense ultracold atomic gases. The experiment has been optimized for fast duty cycles using a high flux cold atom source and a three beam optical dipole trap. The latter enables tuning of the atomic density and temperature over several orders of magnitude, all the way to the Bose-Einstein condensation transition. An electrode structure surrounding the atoms allows for precise control over electric fields and single-particle sensitive field ionization detection of Rydberg atoms. We review two experiments which highlight the influence of strong Rydberg-Rydberg interactions on different many-body systems. First, the Rydberg blockade effect is used to pre-structure an atomic gas prior to its spontaneous evolution into an ultracold plasma. Second, hybrid states of photons and atoms called dark-state polaritons are studied. By looking at the statistical distribution of Rydberg excited atoms we reveal correlations between dark-state polaritons. These experiments will ultimately provide a deeper understanding of many-body phenomena in strongly-interacting regimes, including the study of strongly-coupled plasmas and interfaces between atoms and light at the quantum level.

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“…multi-atom entangled states. Recently, a few experiments have investigated the Rydberg atom-cavity system in both the dispersive [39] and resonant [40,41] regimes. Intracavity EIT phenomena [42][43][44][45][46] with Rydberg atoms have been observed in low [40] and intermediate [41] finesse optical cavities.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Intracavity Rydberg-atom electromagnetically induced transparency using a high-finesse optical cavity

et al. 2017

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We present an experimental study of cavity assisted Rydberg atom electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) using a high-finesse optical cavity (F ⇠ 28000). Rydberg atoms are excited via a two-photon transition in a ladder-type EIT configuration. A three-peak structure of the cavity transmission spectrum is observed when Rydberg EIT is generated inside the cavity. The two symmetrically spaced side peaks are caused by bright-state polaritons, while the central peak corresponds to a dark-state polariton. Anti-crossing phenomenon and the e↵ects of mirror adsorbate electric fields are studied under di↵erent experimental conditions. We determine a lower bound on the coherence time for the system of 7.26 ± 0.06 µs, most likely limited by laser dephasing. The cavity-Rydberg EIT system can be useful for single photon generation using the Rydberg blockade e↵ect, studying many-body physics, and generating novel quantum states amongst many other applications.

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Observation and Measurement of Interaction-Induced Dispersive Optical Nonlinearities in an Ensemble of Cold Rydberg Atoms

Cited by 144 publications

References 20 publications

Attractive photons in a quantum nonlinear medium

Attractive photons in a quantum nonlinear medium

An experimental approach for investigating many-body phenomena in Rydberg-interacting quantum systems

Intracavity Rydberg-atom electromagnetically induced transparency using a high-finesse optical cavity

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