2011/12/31 by Andrew MacRae, A. MacRae, T. Brannan +3 · 101 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Atomic and Subatomic Physics Research #Atomic physics #Bandwidth (computing) #Brightness #Cold Atom Physics and Bose-Einstein Condensates #Computational physics #Excitation #Narrowband #Optics #Photon #Physics #Quantum mechanics #Quantum optics and atomic interactions #Superposition principle #Telecommunications #quant-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevlett.109.033601
published in Physical Review Letters 109(3), 033601 (American Physical Society) · Version 2: Fixed typo in bandwidth, Changed fig. 3 to png reduce file size, added 1 reference, expanded several explanations
arxiv created 2012/04/26 · openalex publication_date 2012/07/17 · arxiv updated 2013/05/29 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
We demonstrate efficient heralded generation of high purity narrow-bandwidth single photons from a transient collective spin excitation in a hot atomic vapor cell. Employing optical homodyne tomography, we fully reconstruct the density matrix of the generated photon and observe a Wigner function reaching the zero value without correcting for any inefficiencies. The narrow bandwidth of the photon produced is accompanied by a high generation rate yielding a high spectral brightness. The source is, therefore, compatible with atomic-based quantum memories as well as other applications in light-atom interfacing. This Letter paves the way to preparing and measuring arbitrary superposition states of collective atomic excitations.