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Enhanced nonlinear optical response of a coherent atomic medium is the basis for many atomic sensors, and their performance is ultimately limited by the quantum fluctuations of the optical readout. Here we demonstrate that the off-resonant interactions, with the aid of the near-resonant process, can significantly modify the quantum noise of a coherent light field, even when its effect on the mean signal is negligible. The altered quantum optical noise distribution results in excess noise in the measurement quantity. We illustrate this concept by using an atomic magnetometer based on the nonlinear Faraday effect. These results show the existence of previously unnoticed factors in fundamental limitations in atomic magnetometry and could have impact in a wide range of atom-light-based precision measurements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In arecent paper [L. Feng et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 109, 233006 (2012)], we demonstrated a sub-transit-linewidth resonance based on cross correlation between optical fields in an electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) system. Here, we investigate the ability of such resonance to resolve multiple resonance peaks. We first report the implementation of the cross-correlation resonance in a hyperfine EIT system, with a linewidth of about 1/16 of the transit EIT width. Then, a magnetic field is applied to create multipeak EIT resonance with tunable spacing. Cross-correlation resonance with multipeaks is observed and the line shape agrees qualitatively with our numerical simulations. We find that the multipeak correlation resonance has better contrast than the corresponding EIT resonance, but with a lower signal to noise. Furthermore, this correlation resonance cannot resolve peaks with spacing close to or less than the intrinsic width, like any other resonance techniques. We analyze the origin of this limitation and make connections to the Ramsey-type subnatural spectroscopy technique. This work shows potential applications of the correlation resonance in atomic frequency standard and laser spectroscopy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is known that cross correlation between the random intensity fluctuations of two lasers forming electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) exhibits a transition from correlation to anticorrelation. We study the linewidth behavior of this transition and have found the linewidth is below the (effective) coherence lifetime limit and is limited only by competing noises. We established a numerical model which reveals the linewidth dependence on laser linewidth and laser power. Our experiments using lasers with different linewidth showed results in qualitative agreement with the model. This result is useful for quantum optics using EIT and may also have applications in spectroscopy and precision measurements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many-body entangled states are key elements in quantum information science and quantum metrology. One important problem in establishing a high degree of many-body entanglement using optical techniques is the leakage of the system information via the light that creates such entanglement. We propose an all-optical interference-based approach to erase this information. Unwanted atom-light entanglement can be removed by destructive interference of three or more successive atom-light interactions, leaving behind only atom-atom entanglement. This quantum erasure protocol allows implementation of spin squeezing with Heisenberg scaling using coherent light and a cold or warm atomic ensemble. Calculations show that a significant improvement in the squeezing exceeding 10 dB is obtained compared to previous methods, and substantial spin squeezing is attainable even under moderate experimental conditions. Our method enables the efficient creation of many-body entangled states with simple setups and, thus, is promising for advancing technologies in quantum metrology and quantum information processing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]