Stimulated Raman Adiabatic Passage Research Articles

Study of the adiabatic passage in tripod atomic systems in terms of the Riemannian geometry of the Bloch sphere

We present an analysis of the stimulated Raman adiabatic passage (STIRAP) processes based on the methods of differential geometry. The present work was inspired by an excellent article by Shore et al (Unanyan et al 1999 Phys. Rev. A 59 2910). We demonstrate how a purely geometric interpretation of the adiabatic passage in quantum tripod systems as a Riemannian parallel transport of the dark state vector along the Bloch sphere allows describing the evolution of the system for a given sequence of Stokes, pump and control laser excitation pulses. In combination with the Dykhne–Davis–Pechukas adiabaticity criterion and the minimax principle for circles on a sphere, this approach allows obtaining the analytical form of the optimal laser pulse sequences for a high fidelity tripod fractional STIRAP. In contrast to the conventional STIRAP in Λ-systems, the Gaussian approximations of the optimal laser pulse sequences allow reaching the infidelity of 10−7 for the adiabaticity parameter of 300 without noticeable oscillatory or other detrimental effects on population transfer accuracy.

Stimulated Raman adiabatic passage with trains of weak pulses* *This work is dedicated to Bruce Shore, a brilliant and inspiring physicist, a pioneer in coherent light–matter interaction theory, a mentor and a friend.

We consider coherent population transfer in multilevel quantum systems driven by time-delayed pulse trains. We show how to choose the parameters of the trains so that the population dynamics tracks the behavior of a Λ-type three-level system under stimulated Raman adiabatic passage (STIRAP). Efficient population transfer can be achieved regardless of the order and with or without overlap of the pump and the Stokes sub-pulses of the trains. Generalized STIRAP schemes of population transfer in N-level system with sequential couplings are also examined. The mechanism of the population transfer and the robustness of the proposed schemes are discussed.

Performance evaluation of invariant-based inverse engineering by quantum speed limits

Quantum speed limits for two time-evolved states are introduced and applied to overlap between true dynamics and approximate dynamics. In particular, we point out that the present idea is suitable for invariant-based inverse engineering, i.e., the worst case performance of invariant-based inverse engineering can be evaluated by using a designed time-evolved state. As demonstrations, we apply the present method to stimulated Raman adiabatic passage and quantum annealing, and then we find that the present idea brings valuable insight to control scheduling.

White laser synthesis based on adiabatic technique

A frequency conversion scheme is proposed for white laser synthesis, based on the nonlinear stimulated Raman adiabatic passage technique. This scheme shall allow simultaneous second harmonic and difference frequency generation. The relative power ratio at different wavelengths can be adjusted through the choice of the input field amplitudes and choice of the spatial variation of the nonlinear optical coefficients. Numerical results show that the scheme allows the synthesis of white laser radiation with high efficiency by taking the green light as the pump field and the red light as the signal field.

Extension of the Morris–Shore transformation to arbitrary time-dependent driving fields

The treatment of time-dependent dynamics of quantum systems involving multiple states poses considerable technical challenges. One of the most efficient approaches in treating such systems is the Morris–Shore (MS) transformation which decomposes the multistate dynamics to a set of independent systems of simpler interaction pattern and uncoupled spectator states. The standard MS transformation imposes restrictions on the time dependence of the external fields addressing the states, as it requires that both Rabi frequencies have the same time profile. In this work we treat the case of the time-dependent MS transformation, which opens prospects for a variety of physically interesting processes wherein the fields may have different time dependences. We explore the adiabatic and the double-adiabatic limit, in which we demonstrate population transfer between the MS states that results in population transfer from one set of states onto another. We demonstrate the generation of superposition states between the MS states by the techniques of half adiabatic passage and fractional stimulated Raman adiabatic passage, which translate to superpositions of all the states of the involved levels.

Full optical preparation of an absolute ground-state ultracold CsYb molecule via laser-assisted self-induced Feshbach resonance

We investigate theoretically the formation of an ultracold CsYb molecule in the absolute ground state by full optical control. The laser-assisted self-induced Feshbach resonance takes place when the trap state in the optical lattice is coupled with a rovibrational state of the ground electronic state. The Feshbach molecule is formed in the resonant rovibrational state via an adiabatic population transfer by ramping the frequency of a chirped pulse. Two schemes are designed to prepare the absolute ground-state molecule starting from the Feshbach molecule: a pump–dump scheme controlled by short pulses and a stimulated-Raman-adiabatic-passage (STIRAP) scheme steered by long pulses. The probabilities of converting the Feshbach molecule to the absolute ground state molecule by using the pump–dump and the STIRAP schemes are 16% and 99%, respectively.

Perfect stimulated Raman adiabatic passage with imperfect finite-time pulses

We present a well-tailored sequence of two Gaussian-pulsed drives that achieves perfect population transfer in stimulated Raman adiabatic passage. We give a theoretical analysis of the optimal truncation and relative placement of the Stokes and pump pulses. Further, we obtain the power and the duration of the protocol for a given pulse width. Importantly, the duration of the protocol required to attain a desired value of fidelity depends only logarithmically on the infidelity. Subject to optimal truncation of the drives and with reference to the point of fastest transfer, we obtain a new adiabaticity criteria, which is remarkably simple and effective.

Tunable Λ -type system made of a superconducting qubit pair

Two transversely coupled and resonant qubits form symmetric and antisymmetric states as their eigenstates. In this paper, we show that parametric modulation of an individual qubit enables direct Rabi swapping between the two states. Its application to set up a $\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Lambda}}$-type system with a pair of strongly coupled superconducting transmon qubits is discussed. The excited state is made of the symmetric state, and the metastable state is the antisymmetric state. The coherence of the metastable state is only limited by the pure dephasing mechanism. Based on this scheme, $\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Lambda}}$-type electromagnetically induced transparency, Autler-Townes splitting, and stimulated Raman adiabatic passage are numerically demonstrated. We highlight the large frequency tunability in such superconducting $\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Lambda}}$-type systems.

Confining atomic populations in space via stimulated Raman adiabatic passage in a doped solid

We experimentally demonstrate spatial confinement of atomic excitation by adiabatic passage processes in a rare-earth ion-doped Pr3+:Y2SiO5 crystal. In particular, we apply stimulated Raman adiabatic passage (STIRAP) and compare its performance with electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT). Using a Stokes beam with Gaussian and a pump beam with donut shape we localize the atomic population in the zero-intensity center of the latter. Our data confirm that adiabatic passage confines excitation far below the diameter of the driving laser beams, and that this localization rapidly increases with laser intensity. We find, that STIRAP significantly outperforms EIT, as it was predicted by previous theory proposals, i.e., STIRAP reaches small excitation volumes with much lower laser intensity. The experimental data agree very well with numerical simulations. The findings serve as a step towards new applications for STIRAP, to prepare excitation regions or population patterns in space with large resolution.

Stimulated Raman adiabatic passage in a quantum system near a plasmonic nanoparticle

We investigate theoretically the population transfer process in a Λ-type three-level quantum system (QS) near a metallic nanosphere using the stimulated Raman adiabatic passage (STIRAP) technique. We combine density matrix quantum dynamical calculations with first-principle electromagnetic calculations, which quantify the influence of the plasmonic nanoparticle on the electric field of the pump and Stokes pulses in STIRAP as well as on the spontaneous emission rates within the Λ-type system. We study the population transfer process by varying the free-space spontaneous emission rate, the distance of the QS from the nanosphere, the polarization direction with respect to the nanoparticle surface and the relative strength of the pump and Stokes pulses used in STIRAP. We find that when the pump and Stokes fields have tangential and radial polarizations with respect to the nanosphere surface, the transfer efficiency is improved due to the increase of the decay rate of the excited state to the target state relatively to the decay to the initial state. The optimal population transfer is achieved for small interparticle distances, moderate free space spontaneous decay rate, large values of the pump Rabi frequency and small values of the Stokes Rabi frequency. When we exchange the polarization directions of the pump and Stokes fields we can still find a range of parameters where the population transfer remains efficient, but larger Stokes Rabi frequencies are necessary to overcome the increased decay rate from the excited state back to the initial state.

Nuclear coherent population transfer to the Th229m isomer using x-ray pulses

Population of the 8 eV $^{229m}$Th isomer via the second nuclear excited state at 29.19 keV by means of coherent x-ray pulses is investigated theoretically. We focus on two nuclear coherent population transfer schemes using partially overlapping x-ray pulses known from quantum optics: stimulated Raman adiabatic passage (STIRAP), and successive $\pi$ pulses. Numerical results are presented for three possible experimental setups. Our results identify the Gamma Factory as the most promising scenario, where two ultraviolet pulses combined with relativistically accelerated ions deliver the required intensities for efficient isomer population. Our simulations require knowledge of the in-band and cross-band nuclear transition probabilities. We give theoretically predicted values for the latter and discuss them in the context of recent experiments.

Two-photon Raman transition channels of NaCs predicted from ab initio calculations

Obtaining effective spontaneous radiative transition channels is a fundamental topic in the preparation of ultracold rovibrational ground states of molecules. Herein, the ranges of prospective transition channels in the NaCs dimer are predicted via exploring the complex energy level structure and transition properties. The potential energy curves of \ensuremath{\Lambda}-$S$ states and \ensuremath{\Omega} states, spectroscopy constants, absolute energies of bound states, and transition information (Frank-Condon factors, lifetimes, transition dipole moments) have been researched. With this purpose, the results of our experiment on binding energies of the ${b}^{3}{\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Pi}}}_{0}{}^{+}$ rovibrational states are analyzed; the transition from the higher (photoassociated) ${}^{1}\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Pi}}$ state to the ground ${X}^{1}{\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Sigma}}}^{+}$ state is discussed. The wavelengths of the two lasers are predicted as 622.8-656.7 nm and 896.3-969.8 nm with the ${B}^{1}{\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Pi}}}_{1}$ and ${c}^{3}{\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Sigma}}}_{1}^{+}$ states, respectively, for the stimulated raman adiabatic passage method.

Robust population transfer of spin states by geometric formalism

Accurate population transfer of uncoupled or weakly coupled spin states is crucial for many quantum-information-processing tasks. In this paper, we propose a fast and robust scheme for population transfer which combines invariant-based inverse engineering and geometric formalism for robust quantum control. Our scheme is not constrained by the adiabatic condition and therefore can be implemented quickly. It can also effectively suppress the dominant noise in spin systems, which together with the fast feature guarantees the accuracy of the population transfer. Moreover, the control parameters of the driving Hamiltonian in our scheme are easy to design because they correspond to the curvature and torsion of a three-dimensional visual space curve derived by using geometric formalism for robust quantum control. We test the efficiency of our scheme by numerically simulating the ground-state population transfer in $^{15}\mathrm{N}$ nitrogen-vacancy centers and comparing our scheme with stimulated Raman transition, stimulated Raman adiabatic passage, and conventional shortcuts to adiabaticity based schemes, three types of schemes popularly used for population transfer. The numerical results clearly show that our scheme is advantageous over these previous ones.

Dynamical emission of phonon pairs in optomechanical systems

The multiphonon state plays an important role in quantum information processing and quantum metrology. Here we propose a scheme to realize dynamical emission of phonon pairs based on the technique of stimulated Raman adiabatic passage in a single-cavity optomechanical system, where the optical cavity is driven by two Gaussian pulse lasers. By exploring quantum trajectories of the state populations and the average phonon number, we find that the dynamical phonon-pair emission can be realized under the appropriate parameter conditions and is tunable by controlling the time interval between the consecutive pulses of pump lasers. In particular, the numerical results for the standard and generalized second-order correlation functions of the mechanical mode show that the system can behave as an antibunched phonon-pair emitter. Our proposal can be extended to achieve an antibunched $n$-phonon emitter, which has potential applications for on-chip quantum communication.

Controllable multiple beam splitting in Hermitian and non-Hermitian symmetric coupled waveguide systems

We investigate high-fidelity multiple beam splitting in Hermitian and non-Hermitian (NH) symmetric coupled waveguides (WGs) with one input and 2 N output WG channels. In Hermitian systems, we realize adiabatically light splitting in resonant case based on the stimulated Raman adiabatic passage and arbitrary proportion from the middle WG to outer WGs in propagation coefficients mismatch case using shortcuts to adiabaticity (STA) technique. In NH systems with even WGs being dissipative, the compact and robust beam splitting can be achieved by eliminating the non-adiabatic coupling via the NH STA method. We further verify the feasibility of our theoretical predictions by means of the beam propagation method. The suggested multiple beam splitters open new opportunities for the realization of on-chip high-bandwidth photonics with high fidelity in short distances.

Spatially strongly confined atomic excitation via a two dimensional stimulated Raman adiabatic passage.

We consider a method of sub-wavelength superlocalization and patterning of atomic matter waves via a two dimensional stimulated Raman adiabatic passage (2D STIRAP) process. An atom initially prepared in its ground level interacts with a doughnut-shaped optical vortex pump beam and a traveling wave Stokes laser beam with a constant (top-hat) intensity profile in space. The beams are sent in a counter-intuitive temporal sequence, in which the Stokes pulse precedes the pump pulse. The atoms interacting with both the traveling wave and the vortex beam are transferred to a final state through the 2D STIRAP, while those located at the core of the vortex beam remain in the initial state, creating a super-narrow nanometer scale atomic spot in the spatial distribution of ground state atoms. By numerical simulations we show that the 2D STIRAP approach outperforms the established method of coherent population trapping, yielding much stronger confinement of atomic excitation. Numerical simulations of the Gross-Pitaevskii equation show that using such a method one can create 2D bright and dark solitonic structures in trapped Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs). The method allows one to circumvent the restriction set by the diffraction limit inherent to conventional methods for formation of localized solitons, with a full control over the position and size of nanometer resolution defects.

Acoustic wavelength-selected metamaterials designed by reversed fractional stimulated Raman adiabatic passage

We present an analog of the quantum-mechanical reversed fractional stimulated Raman adiabatic passage (f-STIRAP) in an acoustic system by designing three-cavity couplers with space-varying coupling strengths, which are further structured to construct acoustic multifunctional metamaterials. The agreement between analytic and simulated results verifies that the propagation of the acoustic wave mimics the evolution of reversed f-STIRAP in quantum optics. The constructed acoustic metamaterials are of optional functions, beam focusing, beam splitting, or asymmetric transmission with switchable features, depending on the wavelength of the incident acoustic wave. Our work extends the application realm of STIRAP, which may have profound impacts on exploring quantum technologies for promoting advanced acoustic devices.

Classical simulation of coherent population return in coupled optical waveguides

An optical analog to coherent population return (CPR) is carried out in two evanescently coupled waveguides. Thepropagation constants of the two waveguides are different and the coupling between them is slowly varied for the adiabatic condition.The analog to the CPR corresponds to complete light return. Furthermore, we simulate two extensions of the CPR. One is that thecoupling is unchanged after it reaches its maximum, while the another one is that the coupling is replaced by a sudden decrease fromthe maximum to zero (half-CPR). We can both observe nearly 50:50 beam splitting in the two extensions. However, the half-CPRperforms better, which implies its application for achromatic beam splitters. Finally, we note that the waveguide structure proposedhere for beam splitters is simpler than those based on the stimulated Raman adiabatic passage and the rapid adiabatic passage.

Prospects for assembling ultracold radioactive molecules from laser-cooled atoms

Molecules with unstable isotopes often contain heavy and deformed nuclei and thus possess a high sensitivity to parity-violating effects, such as the Schiff moments. Currently the best limits on Schiff moments are set with diamagnetic atoms. Polar molecules with quantum-enhanced sensing capabilities, however, can offer better sensitivity. In this work, we consider the prototypical 223Fr107Ag molecule, as the octupole deformation of the unstable 223Fr francium nucleus amplifies the nuclear Schiff moment of the molecule by two orders of magnitude relative to that of spherical nuclei and as the silver atom has a large electron affinity. To develop a competitive experimental platform based on molecular quantum systems, 223Fr atoms and 107Ag atoms have to be brought together at ultracold temperatures. That is, we explore the prospects of forming 223Fr107Ag from laser-cooled Fr and Ag atoms. We have performed fully relativistic electronic-structure calculations of ground and excited states of FrAg that account for the strong spin-dependent relativistic effects of Fr and the strong ionic bond to Ag. In addition, we predict the nearest-neighbor densities of magnetic-field Feshbach resonances in ultracold 223Fr + 107Ag collisions with coupled-channel calculations. These resonances can be used for magneto-association into ultracold, weakly-bound FrAg. We also determine the conditions for creating 223Fr107Ag molecules in their absolute ground state from these weakly-bound dimers via stimulated Raman adiabatic passage using our calculations of the relativistic transition electric dipole moments.

Optimal control of stimulated Raman adiabatic passage in a superconducting qudit

Stimulated Raman adiabatic passage (STIRAP) is a widely used protocol to realize high-fidelity and robust quantum control in various quantum systems. However, further application of this protocol in superconducting qubits is limited by population leakage caused by the only weak anharmonicity. Here, we introduce an optimally controlled shortcut-to-adiabatic (STA) technique to speed-up the STIRAP protocol in a superconducting qudit. By modifying the shapes of the STIRAP pulses, we experimentally realize a fast (32 ns) and high-fidelity (0.996 ± 0.005) quantum state transfer. In addition, we demonstrate that our protocol is robust against control parameter perturbations. Our stimulated Raman shortcut-to-adiabatic passage transition provides an efficient and practical approach for quantum information processing.