T. A. B. Kennedy

Storage and retrieval of single photons transmitted between remote quantum memories

An elementary quantum network operation involves storing a qubit state in an atomic quantum memory node, and then retrieving and transporting the information through a single photon excitation to a remote quantum memory node for further storage or analysis. Implementations of quantum network operations are thus conditioned on the ability to realize matter-to-light and/or light-to-matter quantum state mappings. Here we report the generation, transmission, storage and retrieval of single quanta using two remote atomic ensembles. A single photon is generated from a cold atomic ensemble at one site , and is directed to another site through 100 metres of optical fibre. The photon is then converted into a single collective atomic excitation using a dark-state polariton approach. After a programmable storage time, the atomic excitation is converted back into a single photon. This is demonstrated experimentally, for a storage time of 0.5 microseconds, by measurement of an anti-correlation parameter. Storage times exceeding ten microseconds are observed by intensity cross-correlation measurements. This storage period is two orders of magnitude longer than the time required to achieve conversion between photonic and atomic quanta. The controlled transfer of single quanta between remote quantum memories constitutes an important step towards distributed quantum networks.

Entanglement of remote atomic qubits

We report observations of entanglement of two remote atomic qubits, achieved by generating an entangled state of an atomic qubit and a single photon at site , transmitting the photon to site in an adjacent laboratory through an optical fiber, and converting the photon into an atomic qubit. Entanglement of the two remote atomic qubits is inferred by performing, locally, quantum state transfer of each of the atomic qubits onto a photonic qubit and subsequent measurement of polarization correlations in violation of the Bell inequality [EQUATION: SEE TEXT]. We experimentally determine [EQUATION: SEE TEXT]. Entanglement of two remote atomic qubits, each qubit consisting of two independent spin wave excitations, and reversible, coherent transfer of entanglement between matter and light represent important advances in quantum information science.

Entanglement of a Photon and a Collective Atomic Excitation

We describe a new experimental approach to probabilistic atom-photon (signal) entanglement. Two qubit states are encoded as orthogonal collective spin excitations of an unpolarized atomic ensemble. After a programmable delay, the atomic excitation is converted into a photon (idler). Polarization states of both the signal and the idler are recorded and are found to be in violation of the Bell inequality. Atomic coherence times exceeding several microseconds are achieved by switching off all the trapping fields--including the quadrupole magnetic field of the magneto-optical trap--and zeroing out the residual ambient magnetic field.

Multiplexed memory-insensitive quantum repeaters.

Long-distance quantum communication via distant pairs of entangled quantum bits (qubits) is the first step towards secure message transmission and distributed quantum computing. To date, the most promising proposals require quantum repeaters to mitigate the exponential decrease in communication rate due to optical fiber losses. However, these are exquisitely sensitive to the lifetimes of their memory elements. We propose a multiplexing of quantum nodes that should enable the construction of quantum networks that are largely insensitive to the coherence times of the quantum memory elements.

Quantum Telecommunication Based on Atomic Cascade Transitions

A quantum repeater at telecommunications wavelengths with long-lived atomic memory is proposed, and its critical elements are experimentally demonstrated using a cold atomic ensemble. Via atomic cascade emission, an entangled pair of 1.53 microm and 780 nm photons is generated. The former is ideal for long-distance quantum communication, and the latter is naturally suited for mapping to a long-lived atomic memory. Together with our previous demonstration of photonic-to-atomic qubit conversion, both of the essential elements for the proposed telecommunications quantum repeater have now been realized.

Deterministic Single Photons via Conditional Quantum Evolution

A source of deterministic single photons is proposed and demonstrated by the application of a measurement-based feedback protocol to a heralded single-photon source consisting of an ensemble of cold rubidium atoms. Our source is stationary and produces a photoelectric detection record with sub-Poissonian statistics.

Entanglement of Light-Shift Compensated Atomic Spin Waves with Telecom Light

Entanglement of a 795 nm light polarization qubit and an atomic Rb spin-wave qubit for a storage time of 0.1 s is observed by measuring the violation of Bells inequality (S=2.65±0.12). Long qubit storage times are achieved by pinning the spin wave in a 1064 nm wavelength optical lattice, with a magic-valued magnetic field superposed to eliminate lattice-induced dephasing. Four-wave mixing in a cold Rb gas is employed to perform light qubit conversion between near infrared (795 nm) and telecom (1367 nm) wavelengths, and after propagation in a telecom fiber, to invert the conversion process. Observed Bell inequality violation (S=2.66±0.09), at 10 ms storage, confirms preservation of memory-light entanglement through the two stages of light qubit frequency conversion.

Quantum interference of electromagnetic fields from remote quantum memories.

We observe quantum, Hong-Ou-Mandel, interference of fields produced by two remote atomic memories. High-visibility interference is obtained by utilizing the finite atomic memory time in four-photon delayed coincidence measurements. Interference of fields from remote atomic memories is a crucial element in protocols for scalable entanglement distribution.

Observation of dark state polariton collapses and revivals

By time-dependent variation of a control field, both coherent and single-photon states of light are stored in, and retrieved from, a cold atomic gas. The efficiency of retrieval is studied as a function of the storage time in an applied magnetic field. A series of collapses and revivals is observed, in very good agreement with theoretical predictions. The observations are interpreted in terms of the time evolution of the collective excitation of atomic spin wave and light wave, known as the dark-state polariton.

Phase model analysis of two laser with injected field

Abstract We study the dynamics of two coupled solid state lasers subject to an injected field. A singular perturbation technique is used to reduce the full set of rate equations; we present a comprehensive bifurcation analysis of the resulting phase model. We find four distinct routes to full entrainment as the injected field amplitude increases; bifurcation diagram predicts that the entrainment (reflected in the total intensity) does not monotonically improve with the injected field strength. Our numerical simulations suggest that the reduced phase model captures the relevant dynamics well beyond the asymptotic regime in which it is derived.