Microwave control of the interaction between two optical photons

Maxwell, D; Szwer, D.J.; Barato, D.P.; Busche, H.; Pritchard, J.D.; Gauguet, A; Jones, M.P.A.; Adams, C.S.

Abstract

A microwave field is used to control the interaction between pairs of optical photons stored in highly excited collective states (Rydberg polaritons). We show that strong dipole-dipole interactions induced by the microwave field destroy the coherence of polariton modes with more than one Rydberg excitation. Consequently, single-polariton modes, which correspond to single stored photons, are preferentially retrieved from the sample. Measurements of the photon statistics of the retrieved light field also reveal nontrivial propagation dynamics of the interacting polaritons.

Citation

Maxwell, D., Szwer, D., Barato, D., Busche, H., Pritchard, J., Gauguet, A., …Adams, C. (2014). Microwave control of the interaction between two optical photons. Physical Review A, 89(4), Article 043827. https://doi.org/10.1103/physreva.89.043827

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Online Publication Date: Apr 16, 2014
• Publication Date: Apr 16, 2014
• Deposit Date: Aug 19, 2013
• Publicly Available Date: Jul 31, 2014
• Journal: Physical Review A
• Print ISSN: 1050-2947
• Electronic ISSN: 1094-1622
• Publisher: American Physical Society
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 89
• Issue: 4
• Article Number: 043827
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/physreva.89.043827
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1471640