Hisaki Oka

Selective two-photon excitation of a vibronic state by correlated photons

We theoretically investigate the two-photon excitation of a molecular vibronic state by correlated photons with energy anticorrelation. A Morse oscillator having three sets of vibronic states is used, as an example, to evaluate the selectivity and efficiency of two-photon excitation. We show that a vibrational mode can be selectively excited with high efficiency by the correlated photons, without phase manipulation or pulse-shaping techniques. This can be achieved by controlling the quantum correlation so that the photon pair concurrently has two pulse widths, namely, a temporally narrow width and a spectrally narrow width. Though this concurrence is seemingly contradictory, we can create such a photon pair by tailoring the quantum correlation between two photons.

Control of vibronic excitation using quantum-correlated photons

We theoretically investigate the two-step excitation of a molecular vibronic state using quantum-correlated photons with time delay in order to control the population of the vibronic excited state. A Morse oscillator having three sets of vibronic states, namely, the ground state, intermediate states, and excited states, is used to evaluate the efficiency of the two-step excitation process. We show that we can efficiently and selectively excite only a target state by using correlated photons and can control the excitation population of the target state by adjusting the delay time of the correlated photons. The potential of controlling a chemical reaction using correlated photons is also discussed.

Real-time analysis of two-photon excitation by correlated photons: Pulse-width dependence of excitation efficiency

We theoretically investigate the dynamics of two-photon excitation by correlated photons with energy anticorrelation in terms of how the excitation efficiency depends on incident pulse width. A three-level atomic system having an intermediate state is used to evaluate the efficiency of two-photon excitation. It is shown that for shorter pulses closer to a monocycle pulse the excitation efficiency by correlated photons is enhanced to become 100 times as large as that by uncorrelated photons.

Effects of decoherence on the nonlinear optical phase shift obtained from a one-dimensional atom

We investigate the effects of decoherence on the nonlinear phase shift obtained from a one-dimensional atom implemented by a one-sided microcavity. The one-dimensional atom is realized by coupling a single atom confined in the cavity to the one-dimensional input-output fields of the cavity. The nonlinear optical response obtained from the one-dimensional atom can then be analyzed by using the optical Bloch equations. It is shown that the nonlinear phase shift depends on the coupling efficiency η, which is defined by the ratio of the coherent atom-field coupling rate and the total dipole relaxation rate. In particular, a maximal phase shift of π is obtained on resonance for coupling efficiencies η larger than one half, while the maximal phase shifts for coupling efficiencies η smaller than one half are obtained off resonance and are always smaller than π/2.

Efficient two-step up-conversion by quantum-correlated photon pairs

We theoretically investigate the sequential two-step upconversion of correlated photon pairs with positive and negative energy correlations, in terms of how the up-conversion efficiency depends on the incident pulse delay. A three-level atomic system having a metastable state is used to evaluate the up-conversion efficiency. It is shown that a photon pair with a positive energy correlation can drastically enhance the up-conversion efficiency compared with uncorrelated photons and correlated photons with a negative energy correlation.

Nonlinear optical phase shift obtained from two-level atoms confined in a planar microcavity

We investigate the nonlinear optical phase shift obtained from a thin atomic layer confined in a distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) microcavity with reflection geometry. The optical response of the atom-cavity system is numerically analyzed using finite-difference time-domain method with the optical Bloch equations. The optimal position of atomic layer, at which a maximal phase shift of π is realized, drastically changes with the quality factor Q of the cavity. We show that for high Q the maximal phase shift of π can be obtained anywhere in the cavity field independently of atomic layer position. This result is in contrast to that obtained from a one-dimensional atom model in the limit of bad cavity, where a maximal phase shift of π is obtained only at the antinode of the cavity field. We also show that the independence of phase shift on atom position realized in high-Q regime is due to an interference effect in the surface layers of the DBR cavity.

Quantum phase gate using single atom nonlinearlity

The nonlinear optical response obtained from a single two level atom in a one-sided cavity is studied using a model system, where a infinite atomic layer sits in front of a reflecting mirror. When the atomic layer is placed at the antinode of input field, the result given by finite difference time domain method coupled with the optical Bloch equations is consistent with previous analytical result [ H F. Hofmann, K. Kojima, S. Takeuchi, and K. Sasaki, J. Opt. B 5, 218 (2003) ] based on one-dimensional atom model.

Effects of dephasing on the nonlinear phase shift obtained from a one-dimensional atom

We investigate the effects of dephasing on the nonlinear phase shift obtained from a one-dimensional atom. A maximal 180° phase shift is obtained for atomic dephasing rate smaller than the coherent atom-field coupling rate.