Single-Photon Synchronization with a Room-Temperature Atomic Quantum Memory.

Efficient synchronization of single photons that are compatible with narrow band atomic transitions is an outstanding challenge, which could prove essential for photonic quantum information processing. Here we report on the synchronization of independently generated single photons using a room-temperature atomic quantum memory. The photon source and the memory are interconnected by fibers and employ the same ladder-level atomic scheme.

Quantum vortices of strongly interacting photons.

Vortices are topologically nontrivial defects that generally originate from nonlinear field dynamics. All-optical generation of photonic vortices-phase singularities of the electromagnetic field-requires sufficiently strong nonlinearity that is typically achieved in the classical optics regime. We report on the realization of quantum vortices of photons that result from a strong photon-photon interaction in a quantum nonlinear optical medium.

Floquet Gauge Anomaly Inflow and Arbitrary Fractional Charge in Periodically Driven Topological-Normal Insulator Heterostructures.

Usually, when coupling in a background gauge field, topological zero modes would yield an anomalous current at the interface, culminating in the zero-mode anomaly inflow, which is ultimately conserved by extra contributions from the topological bulk. However, the anomaly inflow mechanism for guiding Floquet steady states is rarely explored in periodically driven systems. Here we synthesize a driven topological-normal insulator heterostructure and propose a Floquet gauge anomaly inflow, associated with the occurrence of arbitrary fractional charge.

Nonlinear coherent heat machines.

We propose heat machines that are nonlinear, coherent, and closed systems composed of few field (oscillator) modes. Their thermal-state input is transformed by nonlinear Kerr interactions into nonthermal (non-Gaussian) output with controlled quantum fluctuations and the capacity to deliver work in a chosen mode. These machines can provide an output with strongly reduced phase and amplitude uncertainty that may be useful for sensing or communications in the quantum domain.

Pulsed-pump phosphorus-doped fiber Raman amplifier around 1260 nm for applications in quantum non-linear optics.

We describe a fiber Raman amplifier for nanosecond and sub-nanosecond pulses centered around 1260 nm. The amplification takes place inside a 4.5-m-long polarization-maintaining phosphorus-doped fiber, pumped at 1080 nm by 3-ns-long pulses with a repetition rate of 200 kHz and up to 1.

A hybrid quantum memory-enabled network at room temperature.

Quantum memory capable of storage and retrieval of flying photons on demand is crucial for developing quantum information technologies. However, the devices needed for long-distance links are different from those envisioned for local processing. We present the first hybrid quantum memory-enabled network by demonstrating the interconnection and simultaneous operation of two types of quantum memory: an atomic ensemble-based memory and an all-optical Loop memory.

Recovering the Homogeneous Absorption of Inhomogeneous Media.

The resonant absorption of light by an ensemble of absorbers decreases when the resonance is inhomogeneously broadened. Recovering the lost absorption cross section is of great importance for various applications of light-matter interactions, particularly in quantum optics, but no recovery mechanism has yet been identified and successfully demonstrated. Here, we formulate the limit set by the inhomogeneity on the absorption, and present a mechanism able to circumvent this limit and fully recover the homogeneous absorption of the ensemble.

Coherent Control and Wave Mixing in an Ensemble of Silicon-Vacancy Centers in Diamond.

Strong light-matter interactions are critical for quantum technologies based on light, such as memories or nonlinear interactions. Solid state materials will be particularly important for such applications due to the relative ease of fabrication of components. Silicon vacancy centers (SiV^{-}) in diamond feature especially narrow inhomogeneous spectral lines, which are rare in solid materials.

Fast, noise-free memory for photon synchronization at room temperature.

Future quantum photonic networks require coherent optical memories for synchronizing quantum sources and gates of probabilistic nature. We demonstrate a fast ladder memory (FLAME) mapping the optical field onto the superposition between electronic orbitals of rubidium vapor. Using a ladder-level system of orbital transitions with nearly degenerate frequencies simultaneously enables high bandwidth, low noise, and long memory lifetime.

Free-space spectro-temporal and spatio-temporal conversion for pulsed light.

We present a new apparatus for converting between spectral and temporal representation of optical information, designed for operating with pulsed light sources. Every input pulse is converted into a pulse train in which the pulse intensities represent the spatial or temporal frequency spectrum of the original pulse. This method enables spectral measurements to be performed by following the temporal response of a single detector and, thus, is useful for real-time spectroscopy and imaging, and for spectral correlation measurements.

Cavity-Enhanced Room-Temperature Broadband Raman Memory.

Broadband quantum memories hold great promise as multiplexing elements in future photonic quantum information protocols. Alkali-vapor Raman memories combine high-bandwidth storage, on-demand readout, and operation at room temperature without collisional fluorescence noise. However, previous implementations have required large control pulse energies and have suffered from four-wave-mixing noise.

Ultrahigh and persistent optical depths of cesium in Kagomé-type hollow-core photonic crystal fibers.

Alkali-filled hollow-core fibers are a promising medium for investigating light-matter interactions, especially at the single-photon level, due to the tight confinement of light and high optical depths achievable by light-induced atomic desorption (LIAD). However, until now these large optical depths could only be generated for seconds, at most once per day, severely limiting the practicality of the technology. Here we report the generation of the highest observed transient (>10(5) for up to a minute) and highest observed persistent (>2000 for hours) optical depths of alkali vapors in a light-guiding geometry to date, using a cesium-filled Kagomé-type hollow-core photonic crystal fiber (HC-PCF).

Two-photon path-entangled states in multimode waveguides.

We experimentally show that two-photon path-entangled states can be coherently manipulated by multimode interference in multimode waveguides. By measuring the output two-photon spatial correlation function versus the phase of the input state, we show that multimode waveguides perform as nearly ideal multiport beam splitters at the quantum level, creating a large variety of entangled and separable multipath two-photon states.

Optically induced rotation of an exciton spin in a semiconductor quantum dot.

We demonstrate control over the spin state of a semiconductor quantum dot exciton using a polarized picosecond laser pulse slightly detuned from a biexciton resonance. The control pulse follows an earlier pulse, which generates an exciton and initializes its spin state as a coherent superposition of its two nondegenerate eigenstates. The control pulse preferentially couples one component of the exciton state to the biexciton state, thereby rotating the exciton's spin direction.

Coherent optical writing and reading of the exciton spin state in single quantum dots.

We demonstrate a one-to-one correspondence between the polarization state of a light pulse tuned to neutral exciton resonances of single semiconductor quantum dots and the spin state of the exciton that it photogenerates. This is accomplished using two variably polarized and independently tuned picosecond laser pulses. The first "writes" the spin state of the resonantly excited exciton.

Entangled photon pairs from semiconductor quantum dots.

Tomographic analysis demonstrates that the polarization state of pairs of photons emitted from a biexciton decay cascade becomes entangled when spectral filtering is applied. The measured density matrix of the photon pair satisfies the Peres criterion for entanglement by more than 3 standard deviations of the experimental uncertainty and violates Bell's inequality. We show that the spectral filtering erases the "which path" information contained in the photons' color and that the remanent information in the quantum dot degrees of freedom is negligible.