Entangling Light in its Spatial Degrees of Freedom with Four-Wave Mixing in an Atomic Vapor

Hybrid Three-Mode Correlation and Squeezing in a Pr3+:YSO Crystal

We report the generation of three-mode hybrid intensity-noise correlation and intensity-difference squeezing of spontaneous parametric four-wave mixing (SP-FWM) and fourth-order fluorescence (FL) signals in the heteronuclear-like (three-level Λ-type) molecular structure of a Pr³⁺:Y₂SiO₅ (Pr³⁺:YSO) crystal using the nonlinear cross-Kerr effect under a polarized dressing effect. In the semi-classical view of a Kerr nonlinear medium, the amplitude of two-mode hybrid correlations of this kind is subject to a limit determined by the hybrid maximally entangled state. Whereas the degree of correlation and squeezing is determined by the dressing effects of the input laser fields participating in the SP-FWM process. We also find that the variations in magnitude of three-mode hybrid intensity-noise correlation and intensity-difference squeezing are consistent with nonlinear cross-Kerr processes. Such a three-mode hybrid signal may have potential applications in long-distance communication, dense coding, all-optical communication and quantum storage on photonic chips.

Dressed Gain from the Parametrically Amplified Four-Wave Mixing Process in an Atomic Vapor

With a forward cone emitting from the strong pump laser in a thermal rubidium atomic vapor, we investigate the non-degenerate parametrically amplified four-wave mixing (PA-FWM) process with dressing effects in a three-level “double-Λ” configuration both theoretically and experimentally. By seeding a weak probe field into the Stokes or anti-Stokes channel of the FWM, the gain processes are generated in the bright twin beams which are called conjugate and probe beams, respectively. However, the strong dressing effect of the pump beam will dramatically affect the gain factors both in the probe and conjugate channels, and can inevitably impose an influence on the quantum effects such as entangled degree and the quantum noise reduction between the two channels. We systematically investigate the intensity evolution of the dressed gain processes by manipulating the atomic density, the Rabi frequency and the frequency detuning. Such dressing effects are also visually evidenced by the observation of Autler-Townes splitting of the gain peaks. The investigation can contribute to the development of quantum information processing and quantum communications.

Parametric amplification and cascaded-nonlinearity processes in common atomic system

For the first time, we study the parametric amplification process of multi-wave mixing (PA-MWM) signal and cascaded-nonlinearity process (CNP) in sodium vapors both theoretically and experimentally, based on a conventional phase-conjugate MWM and a self-diffraction four-wave mixing (SD-FWM) processes, which are pumped by laser or amplified spontaneous emission (ASE), respectively. For laser pumping case, SD-FWM process serves as a quantum linear amplifier (a CNP) out (inside) of the resonant absorption region. While for ASE case, only the CNP occurs and the output linewidth is much narrower than that of the MWM signal due to the second selected effect of its electromagnetically induced transparency window. In addition, the phase-sensitive amplifying process seeded by two MWM processes is discussed for the first time. Theoretical fittings agree well with the experiment. The investigations have important potential applications in quantum communication.

Suppression and enhancement of coexisting super-fluorescence and multi-wave mixing processes in sodium vapor

Different aspects of the properties of the coexisting super-fluorescence (SFL), multi-wave mixing with the fluorescence signal in the sodium vapor are studied both theoretically and experimentally. First, by scanning the dressed-state, the properties of these coexisting processes, such as the SFL signal modulated by using the dark and bright states, the interplay between dressed-states, are observed for the first time. Then, by scanning the probe field, the interplay between the one-photon and two-photon processes of the coexisting signals is obtained with or without the external dressing fields. Such control on each process in such coexisting system has an important potential application in quantum communication.