Controlling Rydberg atom-polariton interactions: from exceptional points to fast readout
Fuente:
arXiv
Guardado en:
| Autores principales: | , , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Formato: | Preprint |
| Publicado: |
2026
|
| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | |
| Etiquetas: |
Agregar Etiqueta
Sin Etiquetas, Sea el primero en etiquetar este registro!
|
| _version_ | 1866914244914577408 |
|---|---|
| author | Šumarac, Tamara Qiu, Emily H. Tsesses, Shai Niu, Peiran Menssen, Adrian J. Xu, Wenchao Walther, Valentin Delić, Uroš Choi, Soonwon Lukin, Mikhail D. Vuletić, Vladan |
| author_facet | Šumarac, Tamara Qiu, Emily H. Tsesses, Shai Niu, Peiran Menssen, Adrian J. Xu, Wenchao Walther, Valentin Delić, Uroš Choi, Soonwon Lukin, Mikhail D. Vuletić, Vladan |
| contents | Rydberg atoms represent a platform underpinning many recent developments in quantum computation, simulation, sensing, and metrology. They further facilitate optical nonlinearity at the single-photon level when coupled to photons propagating in atomic clouds, which form collective atomic excitations called Rydberg polaritons, strongly interacting with each other. Here, we experimentally explore interactions between a Rydberg polariton in an atomic ensemble and a single, adjacent, Rydberg atom. We discover three different regimes of quantum dynamics corresponding to polariton blockade, coherent exchange, and probabilistic hopping, which are defined by their distinct transmission characteristics, with a transition through an exceptional point occurring between blockade and coherent exchange. We investigate the applications of such interactions for fast, non-destructive detection of Rydberg atoms and present proof-of-principle demonstrations for their potential application in nonlinear photonic networks. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2601_06345 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Controlling Rydberg atom-polariton interactions: from exceptional points to fast readout Šumarac, Tamara Qiu, Emily H. Tsesses, Shai Niu, Peiran Menssen, Adrian J. Xu, Wenchao Walther, Valentin Delić, Uroš Choi, Soonwon Lukin, Mikhail D. Vuletić, Vladan Atomic Physics Quantum Gases Quantum Physics Rydberg atoms represent a platform underpinning many recent developments in quantum computation, simulation, sensing, and metrology. They further facilitate optical nonlinearity at the single-photon level when coupled to photons propagating in atomic clouds, which form collective atomic excitations called Rydberg polaritons, strongly interacting with each other. Here, we experimentally explore interactions between a Rydberg polariton in an atomic ensemble and a single, adjacent, Rydberg atom. We discover three different regimes of quantum dynamics corresponding to polariton blockade, coherent exchange, and probabilistic hopping, which are defined by their distinct transmission characteristics, with a transition through an exceptional point occurring between blockade and coherent exchange. We investigate the applications of such interactions for fast, non-destructive detection of Rydberg atoms and present proof-of-principle demonstrations for their potential application in nonlinear photonic networks. |
| title | Controlling Rydberg atom-polariton interactions: from exceptional points to fast readout |
| topic | Atomic Physics Quantum Gases Quantum Physics |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.06345 |