Quantum interference of stored dual-channel spin-wave excitations in a single tripod system.

We present an experimental demonstration of dual-channel memory in a single tripod atomic system. The total readout signal exhibits either constructive or destructive interference when the dual-channel spin-wave excitations (SWEs) are retrieved by two reading beams with a controllable relative phase. When the two reading beams have opposite phases, the SWEs will remain in the medium, which can be retrieved later with two in-phase reading beams. Such a phase-sensitive storage and retrieval scheme can be used to measure and control the relative phase between the two SWEs in the memory medium, which may find applications in quantum-information processing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]