Controlling decoherence of a two-level atom in a lossy cavity

Abstract

By use of external periodic driving sources, we demonstrate the possibility of controlling the coherent as well as the decoherent dynamics of a two-level atom placed in a lossy cavity. The control of the coherent dynamics is elucidated for the phenomenon of coherent destruction of tunnelling (CDT), i.e. the coherent dynamics of a driven two-level atom in a quantum superposition state can be brought practically to a complete standstill. We study this phenomenon for different initial preparations of the two-level atom. We then proceed to investigate the decoherence originating from the interaction of the two-level atom with a lossy cavity mode. The loss mechanism is described in terms of a microscopic model that couples the cavity mode to a bath of harmonic field modes. A suitably tuned external cw-laser field applied to the two-level atom slows down considerably the decoherence of the atom. We demonstrate the suppression of decoherence for two opposite initial preparations of the atomic state: a quantum superposition state as well as the ground state. These findings can be used to decrease the influence of decoherence in qubit manipulation processes.     

Atomic motion in a standing-wave squeezed light field

Abstract

We investigate atomic motion in the standing-wave field of a cavity driven by coherent light plus broad-band-squeezed vacuum. We assume the bad-cavity limit and adiabatically eliminate the cavity mode, deriving a master equation for the atomic variables alone. From this master equation we study the (one-dimensional) atomic motion both in the semiclassical approximation and using quantum Monte Carlo wavefunction simulations. The light force and momentum diffusion are shown to be strongly dependent on the relative phase between the coherent and squeezed fields and, using a dressedstate analysis, we identify observable effects unique to the reduced quantum noise that characterizes squeezed-vacuum light.     

Entanglement-induced population trapping by Schrödinger's cat

Abstract

We propose an experiment that is a variation of the Schrödinger's cat ′paradox' wherein the entanglement between a microscopic system and a macroscopic system is of primary interest. The experiment involves tunable entanglement and serves as a model for controllable decoherence in the context of cavity quantum electrodynamics where atoms interact dispersively with a cavity field initially in a coherent state. The interaction produces an entanglement between the atom and the field, and the degree of entanglement can be probed by subjecting the atom to resonant classical radiation after it leaves the cavity. The amplitude of the resulting Rabi oscillations reflects the degree of the entanglement, there being no Rabi oscillations when the entanglement is maximum. We show that the cavity damping does not affect the experiment.     

Entangling atoms and ions in dissipative environments

Abstract

Quantum information processing rests on our ability to manipulate quantum superpositions through coherent unitary transformations, and to establish entanglement between constituent quantum components of the processor. The quantum information processor (a linear ion trap, or a cavity confining the radiation field for example) exists in a dissipative environment. We discuss ways in which entanglement can be established within such dissipative environments. We can even make use of a strong interaction of the system with its environment to produce entanglement in a controlled way.     

Time evolution of entanglement and bistability of two coupled quantum dots in a driven cavity

Abstract

The time evolution of entanglement between two quantum dots (QDs) trapped inside a cavity driven by a coherent quantized field is studied. In the presence of dissipation, entanglement shows many interesting features such as sudden death and revival, and finite steady state value after sudden death. We also investigate dependence of entanglement on dot variables and its relation to bistability. It is found that entanglement vanishes when the cavity field intensity approaches the upper branch of the bistability curve. When the cavity is driven by a modulated field in the presence of dissipation, it can periodically generate entanglement, which is much larger than the maximum value attained in the steady-state for this system but the dots are never fully entangled.     

Squeezing with Rydberg Atoms

Abstract

It is shown that some 17 Rydberg Na atoms initially placed into a coherent atomic state and super-radiating into a low-Q microwave cavity at temperatures T ? 0·4 K will show modest squeezing in the fluorescence field, the squeezing arising from terms oscillating at twice the cavity frequency. It is also shown that similar numbers of Rydberg atoms undergoing resonance fluorescence in a coherent single-mode microwave driving field and without any cavity will show more substantial squeezing in the fluorescence field.     

Photon filters in a microwave cavity

Abstract

In an earlier paper we concluded that time-dependent parameters in the atom-mode interaction can be utilized to modify the quantum field in a cavity. When an atom shoots through the cavity field, it is expected to experience a trigonometric time dependence of its coupling constant. We investigate the possibilities this offers to modify the field. As a point of comparison we use the solvable Rosen-Zener model, which has parameter dependences roughly similar to the ones expected in a real cavity. We do confirm that by repeatedly sending atoms through the cavity, we can obtain filters on the photon states. Highly non-classical states can be obtained. We find that the Rosen-Zener model is more sensitive to the detuning than the case of a trigonometric coupling.     

Emission spectrum of a Λ-type three-level atom driven by the squeezed coherent field and grey-body radiation field

Abstract

By means of quantum electrodynamics, an analytical expression of emission spectrum for a Λ-type three-level atom with the two non-degenerate lower levels in the cavity is given. The character of the emission spectrum for the input in pure number state, a squeezed coherent state and grey-body state are exhibited. The effects of the atomic initial state, the field property, the cavity absorptivity and the system temperature on the time-dependent physical spectrum are analysed.     

Non-classical Properties of Two-mode SU(1, 1) Coherent States

Abstract

We examine the non-classical properties of two-mode coherent states based on different unitary irreducible representations of SU(1, 1). Such states are generated by the action of the two-mode squeezing operator on initial states of the field containing arbitrary numbers of photons in each of the two modes. If the initial state of the field is a two-mode vacuum state, the final state is of course the two-mode squeezed vacuum. An initial occupation generalizes the idea of a squeezed vacuum to the SU(1, 1) coherent states. We show that fields in such states have remarkable quantum properties such as sub-Poissonian statistics, violations of the Cauchy-Schwarz inequality, strong correlations in the photon number fluctuations and squeezing. Using information theory formalism, we show that these coherent states are less correlated than the usual two-mode squeezed vacuum. Moreover, we show that an initial coherent amplitude contribution, in a large amplitude limit, can result in the reduction of correlations between modes.     

An experimental study of a schrödinger cat decoherence with atoms and cavities

Abstract

The dynamics of quantum decoherence have been experimentally studied for the first time. A single circular Rydberg atom prepares in a high-quality superconducting cavity a ?Schrödinger cat‘ state of the radiation field. This highly non-classical state is a quantum superposition of two coherent components with different classical phases. A second atom probes the cavity state after a tunable delay. The decay of the quantum correlations between the two atoms reveals the evolution of the initial quantum superposition into a mere statistical mixture. The time scale of this process decreases when the separation beween the two components increases. A simple theoretical model of the experiment is presented. The excellent agreement with the experimental signals confirms in a striking way the decoherence approach.     

N-level Atom Interacting with Single-mode Radiation Field: An Exactly Solvable Model with Multiphoton Transitions and Intensity-dependent Coupling

Abstract

We study the dynamics of an N-level atom coupled in a lossless cavity to a single-mode near-resonant quantized field. The atomic levels are coupled by the multiphoton transitions and the coupling constants between the field and the atomic levels are supposed to be intensity dependent. We find the exact solution for the state vector describing the dynamics of the atom-plus-field system. As an illustration we use the model for studying (i) the time evolution of the atomic occupation probability with the initially coherent field and (ii) the light squeezing, when the cavity field is initially in the vacuum state and the atom is prepared in the atomic ‘coherent state’ (a superposition of atomic states).     

Decoherence slowing via feedback

Abstract

It is shown that the decoherence of the Yurke–Stoler coherent state of a field in an open cavity can be significantly slowed down when the feedback is organized between the outgoing radiation and the intracavity field.     

Multimode Coherent States and HeNe Laser Light

Abstract

Among the quantum optical states of a tremolant optical cavity are multimode coherent states. Such states are also possible in open cavities where the cavity stabilization time is greater than the multimode beat time. In open cavity resonator lasers they reduce the power limiting effects of spectral hole burning and therefore tend to grow at the expense of single mode coherent states.     

Cooperativity and Entanglement of Atom-field States

Abstract

The Jaynes-Cummings model of a single two-level atom interacting with a quantized single-mode coherent field generates at the half-revival time a dynamically disentangled atom-field state. At such times, the field is in asymptotically pure Schrödinger cat state, a macroscopic superposition of distinct field eigenmodes. In this paper we address the problem of field purity when a second atom is allowed to interact with the cavity mode and becomes entangled with the first atom via their mutual cavity field with which they interact. We employ the collective Dicke states to describe the cooperative effects on the entanglement and show that the second atom spoils the purity of the field state except for special cases of the atom-field coupling or of initial conditions.     

A note on the measurement of phase space observables with an eight-port homodyne detector

It is well known that the Husimi Q-function of the signal field can actually be measured by the eight-port homodyne detection technique, provided that the reference beam (used for homodyne detection) is a very strong coherent field so that it can be treated classically [see e.g. Leonhardt, U.; Paul, H. Phys. Rev. A 1993, 47, R2460–R2463]. Using recent rigorous results on the quantum theory of homodyne detection observables [Kiukas, J.; Lahti, P. J. Mod. Opt., in press (see arXiv:0706.4436v1 [quant-ph])], we show that any phase space observable, and not only the Q-function, can be obtained as a high amplitude limit of the signal observable actually measured by an eight-port homodyne detector. The proof of this fact does not involve any classicality assumption.     

Cavity field reconstruction at finite temperature

Abstract

We present a scheme to reconstruct the quantum state of a field prepared inside a lossy cavity at finite temperature. Quantum coherences are normally destroyed by the interaction with an environment, but we show that it is possible to recover complete information about the initial state (before interaction with its environment), making possible to reconstruct any s-para-metrized quasiprobability distribution, in particular, the Wigner function.     

Phase properties of two-mode gaussian light fields with application to Raman scattering

Abstract

We investigate quantum phase properties of two-mode optical fields whose quasidistributions have Gaussian form. We show how to simplify the calculation of the joint phase distribution defined via radial integration of the quasidistribution related to s-ordering of the field operators. We find an analytical formula for the joint phase distribution when coherent components of both modes vanish. The general results are applied to analysis of quantum phase properties of the two-mode Stokes-anti-Stokes field generated by means of Raman scattering with a broad reservoir phonon system and strong coherent laser pumping.     

Simulations of continuum coherent states and its use in quantum cryptographic systems

Abstract

The continuum states formalism is suitable for field quantization in optical fibre; however, they are harder to use than discrete states. On the other hand, a Hermitian phase operator can be defined only in a finite dimensional space. We approximated a coherent continuum state by a finite tensor product of coherent states, each one defined in a finite dimensional space. Using this, in the correct limit, we were able to obtain some statistical properties of the photon number and phase of the continuum coherent states from the probability density functions of the individual, finite dimensional, coherent states. Then, we performed a simulation of the BB84 protocol, using the continuum coherent states, in a fibre interferometer commonly used in quantum cryptography. We observed the fluctuations of the mean photon number in the pulses that arrive at Bob, which occurs in the practical system, introduced by the statistical property of the simulation.     

Adding and subtracting energy quanta of the harmonic oscillator

Abstract

We propose a scheme to add/subtract excitations to/from an arbitrary quantum state or the harmonic oscillator. The method displaces the photon-number distribution and leaves its shape unchanged for a wide range of displacements. Mathematically this is realized by the action of phase operators of the Susskind-Glogower type onto the initial quantum state. Consequently, the shape of the phase distribution is preserved unless the number statistics are modified due to displacing it by subtraction onto the vacuum state. Starting with an initially coherent state one may realize pure quantum states displaying either amplitude or phase squeezing. The implementation of the method is based on interactions of the Jaynes-Cummings type, in the case of subtracting quanta one additionally needs to perform measurements on the electronic quantum state of the atoms. Our approach could be used for adding and subtracting both photons on a cavity field and motional quanta of a trapped ion.     

The role of coherent effects in mode bistability of a gas laser in inhomogeneous medium

Abstract

We have studied microscopic effects leading to mode competition in an inhomogeneously broadened medium of a gas laser with a weakly anisotropic cavity. The polarization bistability observed in some lasers, which is believed to be caused by hole burning, we attribute to microscopic coherent effects induced by two light fields. Due to these effects one field can be coupled with another. Hole burning is found to be important, but not crucial. The exact solution of the equation of motion for field amplitudes is compared with the third order approximation of perturbation theory. The role of four wave mixing, important for bistability of axial modes in a homogeneously broadened medium, is discussed.