Generation of nonclassical light is an essential tool for quantum optics research and applications in quantum information technology. We present realization of the source of nonclassically correlated photon pairs based on the process of spontaneous four-wave-mixing in warm atomic vapor. Atoms are excited only by a single laser beam in retro-reflected configuration and narrowband frequency filtering is employed for selection of correlated photon pairs. Nonclassicality of generated light fields is proved by analysis of their statistical properties. Measured parameters of the presented source promise further applicability for efficient interaction with atomic ensembles.
The vast majority of physical objects we are dealing with are almost exclusively made of atoms. Because of their discrete level structure, single atoms have proved to be emitters of light, which is incompatible with the classical description of electromagnetic waves. We demonstrate this incompatibility for atomic fluorescence when scaling up the size of the source ensemble, which consists of trapped atomic ions, by several orders of magnitude. The presented measurements of nonclassical statistics on light unconditionally emitted from ensembles containing up to more than a thousand ions promise further scalability to much larger emitter numbers. The methodology can be applied to a broad range of experimental platforms focusing on the bare nonclassical character of single isolated emitters.
We present the experimental generation of light with directly observable close-to-ideal thermal statistical properties. The thermal light state is prepared using a spontaneous Raman emission in a warm atomic vapor. The photon number statistics are evaluated by both the measurement of secondorder correlation function and by the detailed analysis of the corresponding photon number distribution, which certifies the quality of the Bose-Einstein statistics generated by a natural physical mechanism. We further demonstrate the extension of the spectral bandwidth of the generated light to hundreds of MHz domain while keeping the ideal thermal statistics, which suggests a direct applicability of the presented source in a broad range of applications including optical metrology, tests of robustness of quantum communication protocols, or quantum thermodynamics.
We present the design and construction of a new experimental apparatus for the trapping of single Ba+ ions in the center of curvature of an optical-quality hemispherical mirror. We describe the layout, fabrication, and integration of the full setup, consisting of a high-optical access monolithic “3D-printed” Paul trap, the hemispherical mirror, a diffraction-limited in-vacuum lens (NA = 0.7) for collection of atomic fluorescence, and a state-of-the art ultra-high vacuum vessel. This new apparatus enables the study of quantum electrodynamics effects such as strong inhibition and enhancement of spontaneous emission and achieves a collection efficiency of the emitted light in a single optical mode of 31%.
The demonstration of optical multipath interference from a large number of quantum emitters is essential for the realization of many paradigmatic experiments in quantum optics. However, such interference remains still unexplored as it crucially depends on the sub-wavelength positioning accuracy and stability of all emitters. We present the observation of controlled interference of light scattered from strings of up to 53trapped ions. The light scattered from ions localized in a harmonic trapping potential is collected along the ion crystal symmetry axis, which guarantees the spatial indistinguishability and allows for an efficient scaling of the contributing ion number. We achieve the preservation of the coherence of scattered light observable for all the measured string sizes and nearlyoptimal enhancement of phase sensitivity. The presented results will enable realization and control of directional photon emission, direct detection of enhanced quadrature squeezing of atomic resonance fluorescence, or optical generation of genuine multi-partite entanglement of atoms.
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