Mainz 2017 – scientific programme
Parts | Days | Selection | Search | Updates | Downloads | Help
A: Fachverband Atomphysik
A 36: Rydberg gasses II
A 36.4: Talk
Friday, March 10, 2017, 15:15–15:30, HS 20
Quantum optics with a single Rydberg superatom — •Asaf Paris-Mandoki1, Christoph Braun1,2, Florian Christaller1,2, Ivan Mirgorodskiy1, Christoph Tresp1,2, and Sebastian Hofferberth1,2 — 15. Phys. Inst. and Center for Integrated Quantum Science and Technology, Universität Stuttgart, Pfaffenwaldring 57, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany — 2Department of Physics, Chemistry and Pharmacy, University of Southern Denmark, 5230 Odense M, Denmark
We discuss our recent experiments coupling an optical medium smaller than a single Rydberg blockade volume to a few-photon probe field. Due to the large number of atoms in the blockaded volume and the efficient coupling to the probe light mode, we achieve coherent coupling between the probe field and the effective Rydberg "superatom" even if the probe pulse contains only a few photons.
Fast dephasing between the internal degrees of freedom of the superatom allows us to realize a free-space single-photon absorber, which deterministically absorbs exactly one photon from an input pulse. We show that this system can be used for the subtraction of one photon from the input pulse over a wide range of input photon numbers. On the other hand, in the absence of dephasing, the fully blockaded ensemble undergoes collective Rabi oscillations. This enables us to study the dynamics of a single two-level system strongly coupled to a quantized light field in free space.