2013/05/02 by Giorgio Colangelo, Robert J. Sewell, R. J. Sewell +6 · 1 citation
Computer Science · Physics and Astronomy · #Atom (system on chip) #Atomic and Subatomic Physics Research #Cold Atom Physics and Bose-Einstein Condensates #Degrees of freedom (physics and chemistry) #Electron #Gaussian #Magnetic field #Noise (video) #Physics #Quantum #Quantum Information and Cryptography #Quantum mechanics #Spin (aerodynamics) #Spin engineering #Spin polarization #Statistical physics #quant-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1088/1367-2630/15/10/103007
published as New J. Phys. 15 (2013) 103007 · 25 pages, 4 figures
arxiv created 2013/05/02 · openalex publication_date 2013/10/07 · arxiv updated 2013/10/09 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
We extend the covariance matrix description of atom–light quantum interfaces, originally developed for real and effective spin-1/2 atoms, to include ‘spin alignment’ degrees of freedom. This allows accurate modelling of optically probed spin-1 ensembles in arbitrary magnetic fields. We also include technical noise terms that are very common in experimental situations. These include magnetic field noise, variable atom number and the effect of magnetic field inhomogeneities. We demonstrate the validity of our extended model by comparing numerical simulations to a free–induction decay measurement of polarized 87 Rb atoms in the f = 1 ground state. We qualitatively and quantitatively reproduce experimental results with no free parameters. The model can be easily extended to larger spin systems, and adapted to more complicated experimental situations.