Storage of light in atomic vapor

Electromagnetically induced transparency in ensembles of classical oscillators

We develop a classical model of the parametric effect of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) within the line of resonance absorption of an electromagnetic wave in the medium--an effect initially discovered for a quantum three-level system. On the basis of this model, the EIT effect for electromagnetic waves at frequencies of the electron-cyclotron resonance in a cold plasma is considered. Similar to the analogous quantum scheme, the EIT window in the classical model is characterized by group deceleration of the reference electron-cyclotron wave.

Stationary source of nonclassical or entangled atoms

A scheme for generating continuous beams of atoms in nonclassical or entangled quantum states is proposed and analyzed. For this the recently suggested transfer technique of quantum states from light fields to collective atomic excitation by stimulated Raman adiabatic passage [M. Fleischhauer and M. D. Lukin, Phys. Rev. Lett. 84, 5094 (2000)] is employed and extended to matter waves.

Dielectric black hole analogs

As an alternative to the sonic black hole analogs we discuss a different scenario for modeling the Schwarzschild geometry in a laboratory--the dielectric black hole. The dielectric analog of the horizon occurs if the velocity of a medium with a finite permittivity exceeds the speed of light in that medium. The relevance for experimental tests of the Hawking effect and possible implications are addressed.

A laboratory analogue of the event horizon using slow light in an atomic medium

Singularities underlie many optical phenomena. The rainbow, for example, involves a particular type of singularity-a ray catastrophe-in which light rays become infinitely intense. In practice, the wave nature of light resolves these infinities, producing interference patterns. At the event horizon of a black hole, time stands still and waves oscillate with infinitely small wavelengths. However, the quantum nature of light results in evasion of the catastrophe and the emission of Hawking radiation. Here I report a theoretical laboratory analogue of an event horizon: a parabolic profile of the group velocity of light brought to a standstill in an atomic medium can cause a wave singularity similar to that associated with black holes. In turn, the quantum vacuum is forced to create photon pairs with a characteristic spectrum, a phenomenon related to Hawking radiation. The idea may initiate a theory of 'quantum' catastrophes, extending classical catastrophe theory.

Observation of ultraslow and stored light pulses in a solid

We report ultraslow group velocities of light in an optically dense crystal of Pr doped Y2SiO5. Light speeds as slow as 45 m/s were observed, corresponding to a group delay of 66 micros. Deceleration and "stopping" or trapping of the light pulse was also observed. These reductions of the group velocity are accomplished by using a sharp spectral feature in absorption and dispersion that is produced by resonance Raman excitation of a ground-state spin coherence.

Optical pulse propagation and holographic storage in a coupled-resonator optical waveguide

We propose a method of storage and reconstruction of a classical light pulse based on photorefractive holography in a coupled-resonator optical waveguide (CROW). Pulse propagation in a CROW is described in the context of the tight-binding approximation; the use of a CROW results in a large reduction of the group velocity, which is important for spatial compression of the optical pulses. Further, the efficiency of the photorefractive effect is enhanced in a CROW, enabling quasistatic holographic grating formation using much lower intensity optical pulses. We describe in detail the formation of a photorefractive index grating in a CROW via interference with a reference pulse and the subsequent holographic reconstruction of the signal pulse.

Long-distance quantum communication with atomic ensembles and linear optics

Quantum communication holds promise for absolutely secure transmission of secret messages and the faithful transfer of unknown quantum states. Photonic channels appear to be very attractive for the physical implementation of quantum communication. However, owing to losses and decoherence in the channel, the communication fidelity decreases exponentially with the channel length. Here we describe a scheme that allows the implementation of robust quantum communication over long lossy channels. The scheme involves laser manipulation of atomic ensembles, beam splitters, and single-photon detectors with moderate efficiencies, and is therefore compatible with current experimental technology. We show that the communication efficiency scales polynomially with the channel length, and hence the scheme should be operable over very long distances.

Complete reconstruction of the quantum state of a single-photon wave packet absorbed by a Doppler-broadened transition

An idea for how to reconstruct the quantum state of a nonstationary single-photon wave packet absorbed in a macroscopic medium with inhomogeneously broadened lines is presented. An analytical treatment of the problem is performed and the requirements on the proposed scheme for complete recovery of the recorded nonstationary quantum state with a probability close to unity is described. The physical nature of the present scheme is also discussed.

Frequency-dependent optical pumping in atomic ?-systems

We consider the effects of optical pumping on the conversion of laser-frequency modulation into intensity modulation by an atomic absorption line in a vapor of alkali atoms driven in a ?-configuration. It is found that, due to optical pumping in combination with the excited-state hyperfine structure, the absorption line shape is distorted substantially as the Fourier frequency of the FM is changed. The most significant effect of the distortion is a shift of the apparent line center, which depends on how the frequency of the modulation compares with the optical pumping rate. This shift has implications for locking lasers to atomic transitions and also for FM-AM noise conversion in atomic vapors.

Controlling photons using electromagnetically induced transparency

It is well known that a dielectric medium can be used to manipulate properties of light pulses. However, optical absorption limits the extent of possible control: this is especially important for weak light pulses. Absorption in an opaque medium can be eliminated via quantum mechanical interference, an effect known as electromagnetically induced transparency. Theoretical and experimental work has demonstrated that this phenomenon can be used to slow down light pulses dramatically, or even bring them to a complete halt. Interactions between photons in such an atomic medium can be many orders of magnitude stronger than in conventional optical materials.

Squeezed light from spin-squeezed atoms

We propose to transfer quantum correlations from atoms to light by Raman scattering of a strong laser pulse on a spin-squeezed atomic sample. We prove that the emission is restricted to a single field mode which perfectly inherits the quantum correlations of the atomic system.

Slow group velocity and Cherenkov radiation

We study theoretically the effect of ultraslow group velocities on the emission of Vavilov-Cherenkov radiation in a coherently driven medium. We show that in this case the aperture of the group cone on which the intensity of the radiation peaks is much smaller than that of the usual wave cone associated with the Cherenkov coherence condition. As a specific example, we consider a coherently driven ultracold atomic gas where such singular behavior may be observed.

Dipole blockade and quantum information processing in mesoscopic atomic ensembles

We describe a technique for manipulating quantum information stored in collective states of mesoscopic ensembles. Quantum processing is accomplished by optical excitation into states with strong dipole-dipole interactions. The resulting "dipole blockade" can be used to inhibit transitions into all but singly excited collective states. This can be employed for a controlled generation of collective atomic spin states as well as nonclassical photonic states and for scalable quantum logic gates. An example involving a cold Rydberg gas is analyzed.