Intracavity Rydberg Superatom for Optical Quantum Engineering: Coherent Control, Single-Shot Detection, and Optical π Phase Shift

Abstract

We demonstrate a new versatile building block for optical quantum technologies, enabling deterministic quantum engineering of light by combining the advantages of two complementary approaches: cavity quantum electrodynamics and interacting atomic ensembles. Our system is based on an intracavity Rydberg-blockaded atomic ensemble acting as a single two-level superatom. We coherently control its state and optically detect it in a single shot with 95% efficiency. Crucially, we demonstrate a superatom-state-dependent π phase rotation on the light reflected from the cavity. Together with the state manipulation and detection, it is a key ingredient for implementing deterministic photonic entangling gates and for generating highly nonclassical light states.Received 19 November 2021Accepted 23 February 2022DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevX.12.021034Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI.Published by the American Physical SocietyPhysics Subject Headings (PhySH)Research AreasCavity quantum electrodynamicsQuantum opticsQuantum optics with artificial atomsQuantum InformationAtomic, Molecular & Optical