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Photonic quantum state transfer between a cold atomic gas and a crystal
- Publication Year :
- 2018
-
Abstract
- In a step towards hybrid quantum networks, a quantum state can be transferred between two fundamentally different systems—a cold atomic ensemble and a solid-state crystal—by a single photon. As work on quantum networks continues apace, attention is being focused on the tools and techniques for integrating different quantum platforms to harness the distinct benefits of each. Nicolas Maring et al. now report an important step in the development of such a hybrid network. They demonstrate how a quantum state initially stored in a cold atomic ensemble can be faithfully transferred to a solid-state storage medium—a rare-earth-doped crystal—from where it can subsequently be recovered. Interfacing fundamentally different quantum systems is key to building future hybrid quantum networks1. Such heterogeneous networks offer capabilities superior to those of their homogeneous counterparts, as they merge the individual advantages of disparate quantum nodes in a single network architecture2. However, few investigations of optical hybrid interconnections have been carried out, owing to fundamental and technological challenges such as wavelength and bandwidth matching of the interfacing photons. Here we report optical quantum interconnection of two disparate matter quantum systems with photon storage capabilities. We show that a quantum state can be transferred faithfully between a cold atomic ensemble3,4 and a rare-earth-doped crystal5,6,7,8 by means of a single photon at 1,552 nanometre telecommunication wavelength, using cascaded quantum frequency conversion. We demonstrate that quantum correlations between a photon and a single collective spin excitation in the cold atomic ensemble can be transferred to the solid-state system. We also show that single-photon time-bin qubits generated in the cold atomic ensemble can be converted, stored and retrieved from the crystal with a conditional qubit fidelity of more than 85 per cent. Our results open up the prospect of optically connecting quantum nodes with different capabilities and represent an important step towards the realization of large-scale hybrid quantum networks.
- Subjects :
- Interconnection
Quantum network
Quantum Physics
Multidisciplinary
Photon
business.industry
Chemistry
FOS: Physical sciences
02 engineering and technology
021001 nanoscience & nanotechnology
01 natural sciences
Quantum state
Interfacing
Qubit
0103 physical sciences
Optoelectronics
Atomic physics
Photonics
010306 general physics
0210 nano-technology
business
Quantum Physics (quant-ph)
Quantum
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....837ccf4354a385c100d4d2d70b1ab3c3