Quantum-mechanically correlated (entangled) states of many particles are of interest in quantum information, quantum computing and quantum metrology. Metrologically useful entangled states of large atomic ensembles have been experimentally realized [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10], but these states display Gaussian spin distribution functions with a non-negative Wigner function. Non-Gaussian entangled states have been produced in small ensembles of ions [11,12], and very recently in large atomic ensembles [13][14][15]. Here, we generate entanglement in a large atomic ensemble via the interaction with a very weak laser pulse; remarkably, the detection of a single photon prepares several thousand atoms in an entangled state. We reconstruct a negative-valued Wigner function, an important hallmark of nonclassicality, and verify an entanglement depth (minimum number of mutually entangled atoms) of 2910 ± 190 out of 3100 atoms. This is the first time a negative Wigner function or the mutual entanglement of virtually all atoms have been attained in an ensemble containing more than a few particles. While the achieved purity of the state is slightly below the threshold for entanglement-induced metrological gain, further technical improvement should allow the generation of states that surpass this threshold, and of more complex Schrödinger cat states for quantum metrology and information processing. More generally, our results demonstrate the power of heralded methods for entanglement generation, and illustrate how the information contained in a single photon can drastically alter the quantum state of a large system.Entanglement is now recognized as a resource for secure communication, quantum information processing, and precision measurements. An important goal is the creation of entangled states of many-particle systems while retaining the ability to characterize the quantum state and validate entanglement. Entanglement can be verified in a variety of ways, with one of the strictest criteria being a negative-valued Wigner function [16,17], that necessarily implies that the entangled state has a non-Gaussian wavefunction. To date, the metrologically useful spin-squeezed states[1-10] have been produced in large ensembles. These states have Gaussian spin distributions and therefore can largely be modeled as systems with a classical source of spin noise, where quantum mechanics enters only to set the amount of Gaussian noise. Non-Gaussian states with a negative Wigner function, however, are manifestly non-classical, since the Wigner function as a quasiprobability function must remain nonnegative in the classical realm. While prior to this work a negative Wigner function had not been attained for atomic ensembles, in the optical domain, a negativevalued Wigner function has very recently been measured for states with up to 110 microwave photons [18]. Another entanglement measure is the entanglement depth [19], i.e. the minimum number of atoms that are demonstrably, but possibly weakly, entangled with one another. This paramete...

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Protocols for attaining quantum degeneracy in atomic gases almost exclusively rely on evaporative cooling, a time-consuming final step associated with substantial atom loss. We demonstrate direct laser cooling of a gas of rubidium-87 (Rb) atoms to quantum degeneracy. The method is fast and induces little atom loss. The atoms are trapped in a two-dimensional optical lattice that enables cycles of compression to increase the density, followed by Raman sideband cooling to decrease the temperature. From a starting number of 2000 atoms, 1400 atoms reach quantum degeneracy in 300 milliseconds, as confirmed by a bimodal velocity distribution. The method should be broadly applicable to many bosonic and fermionic species and to systems where evaporative cooling is not possible.

We investigate the generation of entanglement (spin squeezing) in an optical-transition atomic clock through the coupling to a vacuum electromagnetic field that is enhanced by an optical cavity. We show that if each atom is prepared in a superposition of the ground state and a long-lived electronic excited state, and viewed as a spin-1/2 system, then the collective vacuum light shift entangles the atoms, resulting in a squeezed distribution of the ensemble collective spin. This scheme reveals that even a vacuum field can be a useful resource for entanglement and quantum manipulation. The method is simple and robust since it requires neither the application of light nor precise frequency control of the ultra-high-finesse cavity. Furthermore, the scheme can be used to implement two-axis twisting by rotating the spin direction while coupling to the vacuum, resulting in stronger squeezing