Dense Atomic Medium Research Articles

Spatial susceptibility modulation and controlled unidirectional reflection amplification via four-wave mixing.

Control of unidirectional light propagation is of paramount importantance to optical signal processing and optical communication. Especially, the amplified optical signal can isolate noise well that may provide more applications. In this work, we propose a dynamically modulated regime to realize unidirectional reflection amplification in a short and dense uniform atomic medium, and all atoms are driven into four-level double-Λ type by two coupling fields with linearly varied intensities along x direction and two weak probe fields. Based on four-wave mixing resonance and the broken spatial symmetry, the complete nonreciprocal reflection (unidirectional reflection) can be amplified with reflectivity more than 2.0, even to 6.0. In addition, the width, height, and position of the unidirectional reflection bands can be tunable. Thus, our regime is feasible and may inspire further applications in all-optical networks that require controllable unidirectional light amplification.

Nonreciprocal negative refraction in a dense hot atomic medium

We investigate the electromagnetic properties of a four-level dense atomic gas medium with Doppler effect. It is shown that the relative permittivity and relative permeability of the medium can be negative simultaneously with low absorption in the same detuning interval on account of electromagnetically induced transparency. Furthermore, with the suitable parameters, the nonreciprocal negative refraction can be obtained due to the Doppler effect, and the nonreciprocity frequency band can be regulated by adjusting the temperature, the intensity of the control field and the atomic density in this hot atomic medium.

Renormalization group analysis of near-field induced dephasing of optical spin waves in an atomic medium

While typical theories of atom–light interactions treat the atomic medium as being smooth, it is well-known that microscopic optical effects driven by atomic granularity, dipole–dipole interactions, and multiple scattering can lead to important effects. Recently, for example, it was experimentally observed that these ingredients can lead to a fundamental, density-dependent dephasing of optical spin waves in a disordered atomic medium. Here, we go beyond the short-time and dilute limits considered previously, to develop a comprehensive theory of dephasing dynamics for arbitrary times and atomic densities. In particular, we develop a novel, non-perturbative theory based on strong disorder renormalization group (RG), in order to quantitatively predict the dominant role that near-field optical interactions between nearby neighbors has in driving the dephasing process. This theory also enables one to capture the key features of the many-atom dephasing dynamics in terms of an effective single-atom model. These results should shed light on the limits imposed by near-field interactions on quantum optical phenomena in dense atomic media, and illustrate the promise of strong disorder RG as a method of dealing with complex microscopic optical phenomena in such systems.

Quantum control of an optically dense atomic medium: Pulse shaping in a V-type three-level system

In this paper, we suggest a straight-forward technique to control the atomic population inversion in a three-level dense medium based on the pulse shaping with a phase-jump. A strong stokes field and two weak probe fields excite the atomic medium via the V-type configuration. First, we reveal that the atomic population inversion is accomplished under a shaped pulse. Second, we show that this is significantly improved by including a phase-jump in the pulse profile. Finally, we suggest a typical combined shape and phase in order to control the dynamics of the atomic population inversion.

Bound-State Electron Dynamics Driven by Near-Resonantly Detuned Intense and Ultrashort Pulsed XUV Fields

We report on numerical results revealing line-shape asymmetry changes of electronic transitions in atoms near-resonantly driven by intense extreme-ultraviolet (XUV) electric fields by monitoring their transient absorption spectrum after transmission through a moderately dense atomic medium. Our numerical model utilizes ultrashort broadband XUV laser pulses varied in their intensity (1014–1015 W/cm2) and detuning nearly out of resonance for a quantitative evaluation of the absorption line-shape asymmetry. It will be shown how transient energy shifts of the bound electronic states can be linked to these asymmetry changes in the case of an ultrashort XUV driving pulse temporally shorter than the lifetime of the resonant excitation, and how the asymmetry can be controlled by the near-resonant detuning of the XUV pulse. In the case of a two-level system, the numerical model is compared to an analytical calculation, which helps to uncover the underlying mechanism for the detuning- and intensity-induced line-shape modification and links it to the generalized Rabi frequency. To further apply the numerical model to recent experimental results of the near-resonant dressing of the 2s2p doubly excited state in helium by an ultrashort XUV free-electron laser pulse we extend the two-level model with an ionization continuum, thereby enabling the description of transmission-type (Fraunhofer-like) transient absorption of a strongly laser-coupled autoionizing state.

Cavity QED based on room temperature atoms interacting with a photonic crystal cavity: a feasibility study

The paradigm of cavity QED is a two-level emitter interacting with a high-quality factor single-mode optical resonator. The hybridization of the emitter and photon wave functions mandates large vacuum Rabi frequencies and long coherence times; features that so far have been successfully realized with trapped cold atoms and ions, and localized solid-state quantum emitters such as superconducting circuits, quantum dots, and color centers Reiserer and Rempe (Rev Modern Phys 87:1379, 2015), Faraon et al. (Phys Rev 81:033838, 2010). Thermal atoms, on the other hand, provide us with a dense emitter ensemble and in comparison to the cold systems are more compatible with integration, hence enabling large-scale quantum systems. However, their thermal motion and large transit-time broadening is a major bottleneck that has to be circumvented. A promising remedy could benefit from the highly controllable and tunable electromagnetic fields of a nano-photonic cavity with strong local electric-field enhancements. Utilizing this feature, here we investigate the interaction between fast moving thermal atoms and a nano-beam photonic crystal cavity (PCC) with large quality factor and small mode volume. Through fully quantum mechanical calculations, including Casimir–Polder potential (i.e. the effect of the surface on radiation properties of an atom), we show, when designed properly, the achievable coupling between the flying atom and the cavity photon would be strong enough to lead to quantum interference effects in spite of short interaction times. In addition, the time-resolved detection of different trajectories can be used to identify single and multiple atom counts. This probabilistic approach will find applications in cavity QED studies in dense atomic media and paves the way towards realizing large-scale, room-temperature macroscopic quantum systems aimed at out of the lab quantum devices.

Clocked atom delivery to a photonic crystal waveguide

Experiments and numerical simulations are described that develop quantitative understanding of atomic motion near the surfaces of nanoscopic photonic crystal waveguides (PCWs). Ultracold atoms are delivered from a moving optical lattice into the PCW. Synchronous with the moving lattice, transmission spectra for a guided-mode probe field are recorded as functions of lattice transport time and frequency detuning of the probe beam. By way of measurements such as these, we have been able to validate quantitatively our numerical simulations, which are based upon detailed understanding of atomic trajectories that pass around and through nanoscopic regions of the PCW under the influence of optical and surface forces. The resolution for mapping atomic motion is roughly 50 nm in space and 100 ns in time. By introducing auxiliary guided-mode (GM) fields that provide spatially varying AC Stark shifts, we have, to some degree, begun to control atomic trajectories, such as to enhance the flux into the central vacuum gap of the PCW at predetermined times and with known AC Stark shifts. Applications of these capabilities include enabling high fractional filling of optical trap sites within PCWs, calibration of optical fields within PCWs, and utilization of the time-dependent, optically dense atomic medium for novel nonlinear optical experiments.

Adiabatic flux insertion and growing of Laughlin states of cavity Rydberg polaritons

Recently, the creation of photonic Landau levels in a twisted cavity has been demonstrated in Nature \textbf{534}, 671 (2016). Here we propose a scheme to adiabatically transfer flux quanta in multiples of $3\hbar$ simultaneously to all cavity photons by coupling the photons through flux-threaded cones present in such cavity setup. The flux transfer is achieved using external light fields with orbital angular momentum and a near-resonant dense atomic medium as mediator. Furthermore, coupling the cavity fields to a Rydberg state in a configuration supporting electromagnetically induced transparency, fractional quantum Hall states can be prepared. To this end a growing protocol is used consisting of a sequence of flux insertion and subsequent single-photon insertion steps. We discuss specifically the growing of the $\nu=1/2$ bosonic Laughlin state, where we first repeat the flux insertion twice creating a double quasi-hole excitation. Then, the hole is refilled using a coherent pump and the Rydberg blockade.

Transport of laser emission with broadband spectrum in optically dense atomic medium under the coherent population trapping

The paper presents a theory describing the formation of the coherent population trapping resonance for the finite laser bandwidth in an optically-dense medium of atoms inside a buffer gas cell. The equations of the atomic density matrix are established, as well as the transfer equations of laser emission spectrum inside a cell with working and buffer gas at a determined temperature. The dependence of the quality of the coherent population trapping resonance on the laser bandwidth has been studied in the case of detecting the signal of the transmitted emission and the fluorescence signal.

Energy Exchange Between Laser Pulses in Atomic Medium with a Closed Excitation Contour

In this work we investigate propagation of two laser pulses in the optically dense atomic medium (three-level Λ -system) in the case of a closed excitation contour. The closed excitation contour is created by additional microwave radiation which interacts with the low-frequency transition of the Λ -system. Two cases are considered: when the pulse duration is more and less then lifetime of the excited atomic level. It is shown that the propagation of the pulses depends on the relative phase of the fields. When the relative phase is zero, the pulses energy is absorbed linearly. When the relative phase is π / 2, the pulses exchange energy between each other.

Resonant electronic transport through a triple quantum-dot with Λ-type level structure under dual radiation fields

Due to quantum interference, light can transmit through dense atomic media, a phenomenon known as electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT). We propose that EIT is not limited to light transmission and there is an electronic analog where resonant transparency in charge transport in an opaque structure can be induced by electromagnetic radiation. A triple-quantum-dots system with Λ-type level structure is generally opaque due to the level in the center dot being significantly higher and therefore hopping from the left dot to the center dot is almost forbidden. We demonstrate that an electromagnetically induced electron transparency (EIET) in charge of transport can indeed occur in the Λ-type system. The direct evidence of EIET is that an electron can travel from the left dot to the right dot, while the center dot apparently becomes invisible. We analyze EIET and the related shot noise in both the zero and strong Coulomb blockade regimes. It is found that the EIET (position, height, and symmetry) can be tuned by several controllable parameters of the radiation fields, such as the Rabi frequencies and detuning frequencies. The result offers a transparency/opaque tuning technique in charge transport using interfering radiation fields.

Optical bistability induced by quantum coherence in a negative index atomic medium

Bistability behaviors in an optical ring cavity filled with a dense V-type four-level atomic medium are theoretically investigated. It is found that the optical bistability can appear in the negative refraction frequency band, while both the bistability and multi-stability can occur in the positive refraction frequency bands. Therefore, optical bistability can be realized from conventional material to negative index material due to quantum coherence in our scheme.

Electromagnetically Induced Left-Handedness in a Dense Atomic Vapor Medium

We discuss how a three-level system can be used to change the frequency-dependent magnetic permeability of a dense atomic gas to be significantly different from 1. The results show that a negative permittivity and permeability simultaneously with transparent propagation of the electric part of the probe filed can be obtained. Moreover, the magnetic part of the probe field can be amplified instead of strong absorption as usual materials. Therefore, it may be possible to obtain left-handed electrodynamics for an atomic gas using three atomic levels.

Dissipative optical solitons in dense media with optical pumping

The problem of nonlinear scattering of optical pulses in a dense three-level atomic medium with continuous pumping is considered with allowance for the local field effects. The physical requirements on the parameters of the medium and field are formulated, and the ranges of these parameters for which stationary solitons are effectively formed in the model of a quartz waveguide doped with 87Rb atoms are determined using variational methods. It is found that disregarding the local field in this model results in violation of soliton stability in the predicted parameter range.

The influence of collective effects on the propagation of electromagnetic radiation in dense ultracold atomic ensembles

Based on the already-developed general theory (I.M. Sokolov, D.V. Kupriyanov, and M.D. Havey, JETP 112 (2), 246 (2011)), we have studied the spatial distribution of excited atoms and of the atomic polarization that a weak monochromatic field creates in a dense ultracold atomic medium. We show that, in the case of a homogeneous random spatial distribution of atoms, the amplitude of atomic polarization averaged over spatial configurations decreases outside boundary regions according to an exponential law, while its phase linearly increases. Based on this, we have numerically determined the extinction coefficient and the light wavelength in the medium, as well as its dielectric permittivity. The dispersion of the permittivity at different concentrations has been studied. We show that, for dense clouds, the real part of the dielectric permittivity acquires negative values in a certain frequency range. Based on the calculation of the spatial distribution of excited atoms, we have analyzed the character of the transfer and trapping of quasi-resonant radiation in atomic clouds of differing density.

Dispersion of the dielectric permittivity of dense and cold atomic gases

On the basis of general theoretical results developed previously in JETP 112, 246 (2011) we analyze the atomic polarization created by weak monochromatic light in an optically thick, dense and cold atomic ensemble. We show that the amplitude of the polarization averaged over a uniform random atomic distribution decreases exponentially beyond the boundary regions. The phase of this polarization increases linearly with increasing penetration into the medium. On these grounds, we determine numerically the wavelength of the light in the dense atomic medium, its extinction coefficient, and the complex refractive index and dielectric constant of the medium. The dispersion of the permittivity is investigated for different atomic densities. It is shown that for dense clouds, the real part of the permittivity is negative in some spectral domains.

Gradient echo memory in a tripod-like dense atomic medium

We analyze the storage and retrieval of a weak light pulse, having two orthogonally (circularly) polarized components, onto an atomic ensemble of four-level atoms of the tripod type driven by a far detuned coupling field. The atoms are subject to a longitudinal magnetic field which produces a spatially varying Zeeman splitting of the lower levels along the medium and allows for a spatial encoding of the different angular frequencies of the input pulse during the storage phase. A single reversion of the external magnetic field results in a rephasing of the dipoles and leads to the release of the stored signals. The shape of the recovered pulse is a time-reversal copy of the input pulse. The application of an additional reversion of the magnetic field during the storage phase allows the release of a copy of the input pulse without time reversal. We also show that the system may operate like an all-optical multiplexer when considering two impinging optical fields which have orthogonal components. The proposal has potential applications in quantum information processing.

Intensity correlation and anti-correlations in coherently driven atomic vapor

Motivated by the recent experiment [Sautenkov, V.A.; Rostovtsev, Yu.V.; Scully, M.O. Phys. Rev. A 2005, 72, 065801], we study the field intensity fluctuations due to interaction between a laser with a finite bandwidth and a dense atomic medium. The intensity–intensity cross-correlation of two orthogonal, circular polarized beams can be controlled by the applied external magnetic field. A smooth transition from perfect correlations to anti-correlations (at zero delay time) of the outgoing beams is observed.

Propagation of femtosecond chirped Gaussian pulse in dense three-level Λ-type atomic medium

We investigate propagation of femtosecond chirped Gaussian laser pulse in a dense three-level Λ-type atomic medium by using the numerical solution of the full Maxwell-Bloch equations without the slowly varying envelope and the rotating-wave approximations, and the solution is obtained by PC-FDTD method. It is shown that, variation of the sign and size of the chirp coefficient has considerable effect on pulse propagation property, and the effect is closely relative to size of the pulse area. When the area of chirped pulse is smaller than 4π, splitting doesn’t occur and the chirped pulse evolves gradually to an approximate normal Gaussian pulse (C=0), and this characteristic doesn’t vary with the chirp coefficient varying. However, variation of the chirp coefficient will changed the amplitude and group velocity of the pulse. For the positive chirp(C>0), amplitude and group velocity of the pulse decrease with chirp coefficient increasing, for the negative chirp(CC increasing. Both the chirped pulses with area equal to larger than 4π will split into sub-pulses of different numbers and shapes, the time and number of the pulse splitting will be determined by the sign and size of the chirp coefficient. But in the two cases, the pulse splitting patterns are much different, and the effects of the coefficient are also different. When the pulse area equals 4π, larger chirp coefficient will lead to increased sub-pulse number, but when the pulse area is larger than 4π, larger chirp coefficient will lead to decreased sub-pulse number. In addition, regardless of pulse area being larger or smaller, changing sign and size of the chirp coefficient always produces obvious effect on the atomic population.

周期量级激光脉冲在不同密度的原子介质中传播行为的比较

Using the numerical solution of the full Maxwell-Bloch equations without the slowly varying envelope approximation and the rotating-wave approximation, propagation behavior of few-cycle laser pulse in a dense ladder-type three-level atomic medium is investigated and it is compared with the case in the corresponding dilute medium. It is found that, in the propagation process, time evolution of the pulse in the dense medium is obviously different from that in the dilute medium, and the difference will become more evident with increasing of the initial pulse area. When the initial pulse area is smaller, in the propagating process, the pulse shape in the dilute medium just have a small change; the pulse shape in the dense medium has considerable variation but the pulse splitting doesn't occur. When the initial pulse area is larger enough, for the dense medium case, the pulse splits into sub-pulses with different numbers and shapes at different propagation distances; while for the dilute medium case, variation of the pulse shape is still smaller in propagation process. The cause producing above difference is from two effects in the dense medium: the effect of the local-field correction (LFC) from the near dipole-dipole interaction and effect of stronger polarization field than that in the dilute medium. In which the effect of stronger polarization field plays a main role, but the role of LFC also cannot be neglected,and the stronger polarization field is due to the atomic density increasing .