Joseph Hope

Stabilizing entanglement by quantum-jump-based feedback

We show that direct feedback based on quantum-jump detection can be used to generate entangled steady states. We present a strategy that is insensitive to detection inefficiencies and robust against errors in the control Hamiltonian. This feedback procedure is also shown to overcome spontaneous emission effects by stabilizing states with a high degree of entanglement.

Controlling entanglement by direct quantum feedback

We discuss the generation of entanglement between electronic states of two atoms in a cavity using direct quantum feedback schemes. We compare the effects of different control Hamiltonians and detection processes in the performance of entanglement production and show that the quantum-jump-based feedback proposed by us in Phys. Rev. A {\bf 76} 010301(R) (2007) can protect highly entangled states against decoherence. We provide analytical results that explain the robustness of jump feedback, and also analyse the perspectives of experimental implementation by scrutinising the effects of imperfections and approximations in our model.

Atom laser based on Raman transitions

In this paper we present an atom laser scheme using a Raman transition for the output coupling of atoms. A beam of thermal atoms (bosons) in a metastable atomic state is pumped into a multimode atomic cavity. This cavity is coupled through spontaneous emission to another cavity for the atomic ground state. Above a certain threshold pumping rate a large number of atoms build up in the lowest energy state of the second cavity, while the higher energy states remain unpopulated. Atoms are then coupled to the outside of the cavity with a Raman transition. This changes the internal level of the atom and imparts a momentum kick, allowing the atoms to leave the system. We propose an implementation of our scheme using hollow optical-fiber atom waveguides.

Squeezing and entanglement delay using slow light

We examine the interaction of a weak probe with N atoms in a Lambda-level configuration under the conditions of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT). In contrast to previous works on EIT, we calculate the output state of the resultant slowly propagating light field while taking into account the effects of ground state dephasing and atomic noise for a more realistic model. In particular, we propose two experiments using slow light with a nonclassical probe field and show that two properties of the probe, entanglement and squeezing, characterizing the quantum state of the probe field, can be well-preserved throughout the passage.

Steady-state quantum statistics of a non-Markovian atom laser

We present a fully quantum mechanical treatment of a single-mode atomic cavity with a pumping mechanism and an output coupling to a continuum of external modes. This system is a schematic description of an atom laser. In the dilute limit where atom-atom interactions are negligible, we have been able to solve this model without making the Born and Markov approximations. When coupling into free space, it is shown that for reasonable parameters there is a bound state which does not disperse, which means that there is no steady state. This bound state does not exist when gravity is included, and in that case the system reaches a steady state. We develop equations of motion for the two-time correlation in the presence of pumping and gravity in the output modes. We then calculate the steady-state output energy flux from the laser.

Why momentum width matters for atom interferometry with Bragg pulses

We theoretically consider the effect of the atomic sources momentum width on the efficiency of Bragg mirrors and beamsplitters and, more generally, on the phase sensitivity of Bragg pulse atom interferometers. By numerical optimization, we show that an atomic clouds momentum width places a fundamental upper bound on the maximum transfer efficiency of a Bragg mirror pulse, and furthermore limits the phase sensitivity of a Bragg pulse atom interferometer. We quantify these momentum width effects, and precisely compute how mirror efficiencies and interferometer phase sensitivities vary as functions of Bragg order and source type. Our results and methodology allow for an efficient optimization of Bragg pulses and the comparison of different atomic sources, and will help in the design of large momentum transfer Bragg mirrors and beamsplitters for use in atom-based inertial sensors.

Outcoupling from a Bose-Einstein condensate with squeezed light to produce entangled-atom laser beams

We examine the properties of an atom laser produced by outcoupling from a Bose-Einstein condensate with squeezed light. We model the multimode dynamics of the output field and show that a significant amount of squeezing can be transferred from an optical mode to a propagating atom laser beam. We use this to demonstrate that two-mode squeezing can be used to produce twin atom laser beams with continuous variable entanglement in amplitude and phase.

BORN AND MARKOV APPROXIMATIONS FOR ATOM LASERS

We discuss the use of the Born and Markov approximations in describing the dynamics of an atom laser. In particular, we investigate the applicability of the quantum optical Born-Markov master equation for describing output coupling. We derive conditions based on the atomic reservoir and atom dispersion relations for when the Born-Markov approximations are valid and discuss parameter regimes where these approximations fail in our atom laser model. Differences between the standard optical laser model and the atom laser are due to a combination of factors, including the parameter regimes in which a typical atom laser would operate, the different reservoir state that is appropriate for atoms, and the different dispersion relations between atoms and photons. We present results based on an exact method in the regimes in which the Born-Markov approximation fails. The exact solutions in some experimentally relevant parameter regimes give a nonexponential loss of atoms from a cavity.

Fast machine-learning online optimization of ultra-cold-atom experiments.

We apply an online optimization process based on machine learning to the production of Bose-Einstein condensates (BEC). BEC is typically created with an exponential evaporation ramp that is optimal for ergodic dynamics with two-body s-wave interactions and no other loss rates, but likely sub-optimal for real experiments. Through repeated machine-controlled scientific experimentation and observations our ‘learner’ discovers an optimal evaporation ramp for BEC production. In contrast to previous work, our learner uses a Gaussian process to develop a statistical model of the relationship between the parameters it controls and the quality of the BEC produced. We demonstrate that the Gaussian process machine learner is able to discover a ramp that produces high quality BECs in 10 times fewer iterations than a previously used online optimization technique. Furthermore, we show the internal model developed can be used to determine which parameters are essential in BEC creation and which are unimportant, providing insight into the optimization process of the system.

Generating controllable atom-light entanglement with a Raman atom laser system

We introduce a scheme for creating continuous variable entanglement between an atomic beam and an optical field, by using squeezed light to outcouple atoms from a Bose-Einstein condensate via a Raman transition. We model the full multimode dynamics of the atom laser beam and the squeezed optical field and show that, with appropriate two-photon detuning and two-photon Rabi frequency, the transmitted light is entangled in amplitude and phase with the outcoupled atom laser beam. The degree of entanglement is controllable via changes in the two-photon Rabi frequency of the outcoupling process.