Optical Memory in a Microfabricated Rubidium Vapor Cell.

Scalability presents a central platform challenge for the components of current quantum network implementations that can be addressed by microfabrication techniques. We demonstrate a high-bandwidth optical memory using a warm alkali atom ensemble in a microfabricated vapor cell compatible with wafer-scale fabrication. By applying an external tesla-order magnetic field, we explore a novel ground-state quantum memory scheme in the hyperfine Paschen-Back regime, where individual optical transitions can be addressed in a Doppler-broadened medium. Working on the ^{87}Rb D_{2} line, where deterministic quantum dot single-photon sources are available, we demonstrate bandwidth-matching with hundreds of megahertz broad light pulses keeping such sources in mind. For a storage time of 80 ns we measure an end-to-end efficiency of η_{e2e}^{80 ns}=3.12(17)%, corresponding to an internal efficiency of η_{int}^{0 ns}=24(3)%, while achieving a signal-to-noise ratio of SNR=7.9(8) with coherent pulses at the single-photon level.

Nuclear Spin Squeezing in Helium-3 by Continuous Quantum Nondemolition Measurement.

We propose a technique to control the macroscopic collective nuclear spin of a helium-3 gas in the quantum regime using light. The scheme relies on metastability exchange collisions to mediate interactions between optically accessible metastable states and the ground-state nuclear spin, giving rise to an effective nuclear spin-light quantum nondemolition interaction of the Faraday form. Our technique enables measurement-based quantum control of nuclear spins, such as the preparation of spin-squeezed states. This, combined with the day-long coherence time of nuclear spin states in helium-3, opens the possibility for a number of applications in quantum technology.

Fundamental Limit of Phase Coherence in Two-Component Bose-Einstein Condensates.

We experimentally and theoretically study phase coherence in two-component Bose-Einstein condensates of ^{87}Rb atoms on an atom chip. Using Ramsey interferometry we determine the temporal decay of coherence between the |F=1,m_{F}=-1⟩ and |F=2,m_{F}=+1⟩ hyperfine ground states. We observe that the coherence is limited by random collisional phase shifts due to the stochastic nature of atom loss. The mechanism is confirmed quantitatively by a quantum trajectory method based on a master equation which takes into account collisional interactions, atom number fluctuations, and losses in the system. This decoherence process can be slowed down by reducing the density of the condensate. Our findings are relevant for experiments on quantum metrology and many-particle entanglement with Bose-Einstein condensates and the development of chip-based atomic clocks.

Light-mediated strong coupling between a mechanical oscillator and atomic spins 1 meter apart.

Engineering strong interactions between quantum systems is essential for many phenomena of quantum physics and technology. Typically, strong coupling relies on short-range forces or on placing the systems in high-quality electromagnetic resonators, which restricts the range of the coupling to small distances. We used a free-space laser beam to strongly couple a collective atomic spin and a micromechanical membrane over a distance of 1 meter in a room-temperature environment. The coupling is highly tunable and allows the observation of normal-mode splitting, coherent energy exchange oscillations, two-mode thermal noise squeezing, and dissipative coupling. Our approach to engineering coherent long-distance interactions with light makes it possible to couple very different systems in a modular way, opening up a range of opportunities for quantum control and coherent feedback networks.

An efficient, tunable, and robust source of narrow-band photon pairs at the 87Rb D1 line.

We present an efficient and robust source of photons at the 87Rb D1-line (795 nm) with a narrow bandwidth of δ = 226(1) MHz. The source is based on non-degenerate, cavity-enhanced spontaneous parametric down-conversion in a monolithic optical parametric oscillator far below threshold. The setup allows for efficient coupling to single mode fibers. A heralding efficiency of ηheralded = 45(5) % is achieved, and the uncorrected number of detected photon pairs is 3.8 × 103/(s mW). For pair generation rates up to 5 × 105/s, the source emits heralded single photons with a normalized, heralded, second-order correlation function g c(2)<0.01. The source is intrinsically stable due to the monolithic configuration. Frequency drifts are on the order of δ/20 per hour without active feedback on the emission frequency. We achieved fine-tuning of the source frequency within a range of >2 GHz by applying mechanical strain.

Spatial entanglement patterns and Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen steering in Bose-Einstein condensates.

Many-particle entanglement is a fundamental concept of quantum physics that still presents conceptual challenges. Although nonclassical states of atomic ensembles were used to enhance measurement precision in quantum metrology, the notion of entanglement in these systems was debated because the correlations among the indistinguishable atoms were witnessed by collective measurements only. Here, we use high-resolution imaging to directly measure the spin correlations between spatially separated parts of a spin-squeezed Bose-Einstein condensate. We observe entanglement that is strong enough for Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen steering: We can predict measurement outcomes for noncommuting observables in one spatial region on the basis of corresponding measurements in another region with an inferred uncertainty product below the Heisenberg uncertainty bound. This method could be exploited for entanglement-enhanced imaging of electromagnetic field distributions and quantum information tasks.

Light-Mediated Collective Atomic Motion in an Optical Lattice Coupled to a Membrane.

We observe effects of collective atomic motion in a one-dimensional optical lattice coupled to an optomechanical system. In this hybrid atom-optomechanical system, the lattice light generates a coupling between the lattice atoms as well as between atoms and a micromechanical membrane oscillator. For large atom numbers we observe an instability in the coupled system, resulting in large-amplitude atom-membrane oscillations. We show that this behavior can be explained by light-mediated collective atomic motion in the lattice, which arises for large atom numbers, small atom-light detunings, and asymmetric pumping of the lattice, in agreement with previous theoretical work. The model connects the optomechanical instability to a phase delay in the global atomic backaction onto the lattice light, which we observe in a direct measurement.

Bell Correlations in a Many-Body System with Finite Statistics.

A recent experiment reported the first violation of a Bell correlation witness in a many-body system [Science 352, 441 (2016)]. Following discussions in this Letter, we address here the question of the statistics required to witness Bell correlated states, i.e., states violating a Bell inequality, in such experiments. We start by deriving multipartite Bell inequalities involving an arbitrary number of measurement settings, two outcomes per party and one- and two-body correlators only. Based on these inequalities, we then build up improved witnesses able to detect Bell correlated states in many-body systems using two collective measurements only. These witnesses can potentially detect Bell correlations in states with an arbitrarily low amount of spin squeezing. We then establish an upper bound on the statistics needed to convincingly conclude that a measured state is Bell correlated.

Simple Atomic Quantum Memory Suitable for Semiconductor Quantum Dot Single Photons.

Quantum memories matched to single photon sources will form an important cornerstone of future quantum network technology. We demonstrate such a memory in warm Rb vapor with on-demand storage and retrieval, based on electromagnetically induced transparency. With an acceptance bandwidth of δf=0.66 GHz, the memory is suitable for single photons emitted by semiconductor quantum dots. In this regime, vapor cell memories offer an excellent compromise between storage efficiency, storage time, noise level, and experimental complexity, and atomic collisions have negligible influence on the optical coherences. Operation of the memory is demonstrated using attenuated laser pulses on the single photon level. For a 50 ns storage time, we measure η_{e2e}^{50 ns}=3.4(3)% end-to-end efficiency of the fiber-coupled memory, with a total intrinsic efficiency η_{int}=17(3)%. Straightforward technological improvements can boost the end-to-end-efficiency to η_{e2e}≈35%; beyond that, increasing the optical depth and exploiting the Zeeman substructure of the atoms will allow such a memory to approach near unity efficiency. In the present memory, the unconditional read-out noise level of 9×10^{-3} photons is dominated by atomic fluorescence, and for input pulses containing on average µ_{1}=0.27(4) photons, the signal to noise level would be unity.

Bell correlations in a Bose-Einstein condensate.

Characterizing many-body systems through the quantum correlations between their constituent particles is a major goal of quantum physics. Although entanglement is routinely observed in many systems, we report here the detection of stronger correlations--Bell correlations--between the spins of about 480 atoms in a Bose-Einstein condensate. We derive a Bell correlation witness from a many-particle Bell inequality involving only one- and two-body correlation functions. Our measurement on a spin-squeezed state exceeds the threshold for Bell correlations by 3.8 standard deviations. Our work shows that the strongest possible nonclassical correlations are experimentally accessible in many-body systems and that they can be revealed by collective measurements.

Sympathetic cooling of a membrane oscillator in a hybrid mechanical-atomic system.

Sympathetic cooling with ultracold atoms and atomic ions enables ultralow temperatures in systems where direct laser or evaporative cooling is not possible. It has so far been limited to the cooling of other microscopic particles, with masses up to 90 times larger than that of the coolant atom. Here, we use ultracold atoms to sympathetically cool the vibrations of a Si3N4 nanomembrane, the mass of which exceeds that of the atomic ensemble by a factor of 10(10). The coupling of atomic and membrane vibrations is mediated by laser light over a macroscopic distance and is enhanced by placing the membrane in an optical cavity. We observe cooling of the membrane vibrations from room temperature to 650 ± 230 mK, exploiting the large atom-membrane cooperativity of our hybrid optomechanical system. With technical improvements, our scheme could provide ground-state cooling and quantum control of low-frequency oscillators such as nanomembranes or levitated nanoparticles, in a regime where purely optomechanical techniques cannot reach the ground state.

Quantum metrology with a scanning probe atom interferometer.

We use a small Bose-Einstein condensate on an atom chip as an interferometric scanning probe to map out a microwave field near the chip surface with a few micrometers resolution. With the use of entanglement between the atoms, our interferometer overcomes the standard quantum limit of interferometry by 4 dB and maintains enhanced performance for interrogation times up to 10 ms. This corresponds to a microwave magnetic field sensitivity of 77 pT/√Hz in a probe volume of 20 µm(3). Quantum metrology with entangled atoms is useful in measurements with high spatial resolution, since the atom number in the probe volume is limited by collisional loss. High-resolution measurements of microwave near fields, as demonstrated here, are important for the development of integrated microwave circuits for quantum information processing and applications in communication technology.

Realization of an optomechanical interface between ultracold atoms and a membrane.

We have realized a hybrid optomechanical system by coupling ultracold atoms to a micromechanical membrane. The atoms are trapped in an optical lattice, which is formed by retroreflection of a laser beam from the membrane surface. In this setup, the lattice laser light mediates an optomechanical coupling between membrane vibrations and atomic center-of-mass motion. We observe both the effect of the membrane vibrations onto the atoms as well as the backaction of the atomic motion onto the membrane. By coupling the membrane to laser-cooled atoms, we engineer the dissipation rate of the membrane. Our observations agree quantitatively with a simple model.

Enhanced and reduced atom number fluctuations in a BEC splitter.

We measure atom number statistics after splitting a gas of ultracold 87Rb atoms in a purely magnetic double-well potential created on an atom chip. Well below the critical temperature for Bose-Einstein condensation Tc, we observe reduced fluctuations down to -4.9 dB below the atom shot noise level. Fluctuations rise to more than +3.8 dB close to Tc, before reaching the shot noise level for higher temperatures. We use two-mode and classical field simulations to model these results. This allows us to confirm that the supershot noise fluctuations directly originate from quantum statistics.

Resonant coupling of a Bose-Einstein condensate to a micromechanical oscillator.

We report experiments in which the vibrations of a micromechanical oscillator are coupled to the motion of Bose-condensed atoms in a trap. The interaction relies on surface forces experienced by the atoms at about 1 microm distance from the mechanical structure. We observe resonant coupling to several well-resolved mechanical modes of the condensate. Coupling via surface forces does not require magnets, electrodes, or mirrors on the oscillator and could thus be employed to couple atoms to molecular-scale oscillators such as carbon nanotubes.

Atom-chip-based generation of entanglement for quantum metrology.

Atom chips provide a versatile quantum laboratory for experiments with ultracold atomic gases. They have been used in diverse experiments involving low-dimensional quantum gases, cavity quantum electrodynamics, atom-surface interactions, and chip-based atomic clocks and interferometers. However, a severe limitation of atom chips is that techniques to control atomic interactions and to generate entanglement have not been experimentally available so far. Such techniques enable chip-based studies of entangled many-body systems and are a key prerequisite for atom chip applications in quantum simulations, quantum information processing and quantum metrology. Here we report the experimental generation of multi-particle entanglement on an atom chip by controlling elastic collisional interactions with a state-dependent potential. We use this technique to generate spin-squeezed states of a two-component Bose-Einstein condensate; such states are a useful resource for quantum metrology. The observed reduction in spin noise of -3.7 +/- 0.4 dB, combined with the spin coherence, implies four-partite entanglement between the condensate atoms; this could be used to improve an interferometric measurement by -2.5 +/- 0.6 dB over the standard quantum limit. Our data show good agreement with a dynamical multi-mode simulation and allow us to reconstruct the Wigner function of the spin-squeezed condensate. The techniques reported here could be directly applied to chip-based atomic clocks, currently under development.

Bose-Einstein condensate coupled to a nanomechanical resonator on an atom chip.

We theoretically study the coupling of Bose-Einstein condensed atoms to the mechanical oscillations of a nanoscale cantilever with a magnetic tip. This is an experimentally viable hybrid quantum system which allows one to explore the interface of quantum optics and condensed matter physics. We propose an experiment where easily detectable atomic spin flips are induced by the cantilever motion. This can be used to probe thermal oscillations of the cantilever with the atoms. At low cantilever temperatures, as realized in recent experiments, the backaction of the atoms onto the cantilever is significant and the system represents a mechanical analog of cavity quantum electrodynamics. With high but realistic cantilever quality factors, the strong coupling regime can be reached, either with single atoms or collectively with Bose-Einstein condensates. We discuss an implementation on an atom chip.