Single-photon stored-light Ramsey interferometry using Rydberg polaritons

We demonstrate a single-photon stored-light interferometer, where a photon is stored in a laser-cooled atomic ensemble in the form of a Rydberg polariton with a spatial extent of 10 × 1 × 1 µ m 3 . The photon is subject to a Ramsey sequence, i.e., “split” into a superposition of two paths. After a d...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Optics letters 2020-10, Vol.45 (20), p.5888-5891
Main Authors: Jiao, Yuechun, Spong, Nicholas L. R., Hughes, Oliver D. W., So, Chloe, Ilieva, Teodora, Weatherill, Kevin J., Adams, Charles S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Interferometry
Laser cooling
Photons
Polaritons
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Summary:We demonstrate a single-photon stored-light interferometer, where a photon is stored in a laser-cooled atomic ensemble in the form of a Rydberg polariton with a spatial extent of 10 × 1 × 1 µ m 3 . The photon is subject to a Ramsey sequence, i.e., “split” into a superposition of two paths. After a delay of up to 450 ns, the two paths are recombined to give an output dependent on their relative phase. The superposition time of 450 ns is equivalent to a free-space propagation distance of 135 m. We show that the interferometer fringes are sensitive to external fields and suggest that stored-light interferometry could be useful for localized sensing applications.
ISSN:0146-9592
1539-4794
DOI:10.1364/OL.405143