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Artificial Atoms Can Do More Than Atoms: Deterministic Single Photon Subtraction from Arbitrary Light Fields

Jens Honer, R. Löw, Hendrik Weimer, Tilman Pfau, and Hans Peter Büchler
Phys. Rev. Lett. 107, 093601 – Published 25 August 2011
Physics logo See Synopsis: Out of many atoms, one photon

Abstract

We study the interplay of photons interacting with an artificial atom in the presence of a controlled dephasing. Such artificial atoms consisting of several independent scatterers can exhibit remarkable properties superior to single atoms with a prominent example being a superatom based on Rydberg blockade. We demonstrate that the induced dephasing allows for the controlled absorption of a single photon from an arbitrary incoming probe field. This unique tool in photon-matter interaction opens a way for building novel quantum devices, and several potential applications such as a single photon transistor, high fidelity n-photon counters, or the creation of nonclassical states of light by photon subtraction are presented.

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  • Received 7 March 2011

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.107.093601

© 2011 American Physical Society

Synopsis

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Out of many atoms, one photon

Published 25 August 2011

A gas of excited-state atoms could perform as a single-photon detector.

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Authors & Affiliations

Jens Honer1, R. Löw2, Hendrik Weimer1,3,4, Tilman Pfau2, and Hans Peter Büchler1

  • 1Institute for Theoretical Physics III, University of Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany
  • 25. Physikalische Institut, University of Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany
  • 3Physics Department, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA
  • 4ITAMP, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA

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Issue

Vol. 107, Iss. 9 — 26 August 2011

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