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A two-level quantum system coherently driven by a resonant electromagnetic field oscillates sinusoidally between the two levels at frequency $\Omega$ which is proportional to the field amplitude [1]. This phenomenon, known as the Rabi oscillation, has been at the heart of atomic, molecular and optical physics since the seminal work of its namesake and coauthors [2]. Notably, Rabi oscillations in isolated single atoms or dilute gases form the basis for metrological applications such as atomic clocks and precision measurements of physical constants [3]. Both inhomogeneous distribution of coupling strength to the field and interactions between individual atoms reduce the visibility of the oscillation and may even suppress it completely. A remarkable transformation takes place in the limit where only a single excitation can be present in the sample due to either initial conditions or atomic interactions: there arises a collective, many-body Rabi oscillation at a frequency $N^0.5\Omega$ involving all N >> 1 atoms in the sample [4]. This is true even for inhomogeneous atom-field coupling distributions, where single-atom Rabi oscillations may be invisible. When one of the two levels is a strongly interacting Rydberg level, many-body Rabi oscillations emerge as a consequence of the Rydberg excitation blockade. Lukin and coauthors outlined an approach to quantum information processing based on this effect [5]. Here we report initial observations of coherent many-body Rabi oscillations between the ground level and a Rydberg level using several hundred cold rubidium atoms. The strongly pronounced oscillations indicate a nearly complete excitation blockade of the entire mesoscopic ensemble by a single excited atom. The results pave the way towards quantum computation and simulation using ensembles of atoms.

Rydberg spin waves are optically excited in a quasi-one-dimensional atomic sample of Rb atoms. Pair-wise spin-wave correlations are observed by a spatially selective transfer of the quantum state onto a light field and photoelectric correlation measurements of the light. The correlations are interpreted in terms of the dephasing of multiply-excited spin waves by long-range Rydberg interactions.

An approach to fast entanglement generation based on Rydberg dephasing of collective excitations (spin-waves) in large, optically thick atomic ensembles is proposed. Long-range $1/r^3$ atomic interactions are induced by microwave mixing of opposite-parity Rydberg states. Required long coherence times are achieved via four-photon excitation and read-out of long wavelength spin-waves. The dephasing mechanism is shown to have favorable, approximately exponential, scaling for entanglement generation., Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures

Entanglement of a 795 nm light polarization qubit and an atomic Rb spin wave qubit for a storage time of 0.1 s is observed by measuring the violation of Bell's inequality (S = 2.65 \pm 0.12). Long qubit storage times are achieved by pinning the spin wave in a 1064 nm wavelength optical lattice, with a magic-valued magnetic field superposed to eliminate lattice-induced dephasing. Four-wave mixing in a cold Rb gas is employed to perform light qubit conversion between near infra red (795 nm) and telecom (1367 nm) wavelengths, and after propagation in a telecom fiber, to invert the conversion process. Observed Bell inequality violation (S = 2.66 \pm 0.09), at 10 ms storage, confirms preservation of memory/light entanglement through the two stages of light qubit frequency conversion., Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures

Differential Stark shift compensation for ground state $^{87}$Rb atoms trapped in an elliptically polarized optical lattice and "magic" magnetic field, was recently proposed and demonstrated experimentally by N. Lundblad {\it et al.}, arXiv:0912.1528 and analyzed theoretically by A. Derevianko, arXiv:0912.3233. Here we demonstrate for the first time enhanced hyperfine coherence times using the magic field technique. We observe coherent light storage with a 0.32 s lifetime in an atomic Rb gas confined in a one dimensional optical lattice and magnetic field., Comment: Physical Review A, in press.