The Quantum Internet

Quantum networks offer a unifying set of opportunities and challenges across exciting intellectual and technical frontiers, including for quantum computation, communication, and metrology. The realization of quantum networks composed of many nodes and channels requires new scientific capabilities for the generation and characterization of quantum coherence and entanglement. Fundamental to this endeavor are quantum interconnects that convert quantum states from one physical system to those of another in a reversible fashion. Such quantum connectivity for networks can be achieved by optical interactions of single photons and atoms, thereby enabling entanglement distribution and quantum teleportation between nodes.Comment: 15 pages, 6 figures Higher resolution versions of the figures can be downloaded from the following link: http://www.its.caltech.edu/~hjkimble/QNet-figures-high-resolutio

Measuring Nothing

Measurement is integral to quantum information processing and communication; it is how information encoded in the state of a system is transformed into classical signals for further use. In quantum optics, measurements are typically destructive, so that the state is not available afterwards for further steps - crucial for sequential measurement schemes. The development of practical methods for non-destructive measurements on optical fields is therefore an important topic for future practical quantum information processing systems. Here we show how to measure the presence or absence of the vacuum in a quantum optical field without destroying the state, implementing the ideal projections onto the respective subspaces. This not only enables sequential measurements, useful for quantum communication, but it can also be adapted to create novel states of light via bare raising and lowering operators.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figure

Telecom photon interface of solid-state quantum nodes

Solid-state spins such as nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center are promising platforms for large-scale quantum networks. Despite the optical interface of NV center system, however, the significant attenuation of its zero-phonon-line photon in optical fiber prevents the network extended to long distances. Therefore a telecom-wavelength photon interface would be essential to reduce the photon loss in transporting quantum information. Here we propose an efficient scheme for coupling telecom photon to NV center ensembles mediated by rare-earth doped crystal. Specifically, we proposed protocols for high fidelity quantum state transfer and entanglement generation with parameters within reach of current technologies. Such an interface would bring new insights into future implementations of long-range quantum network with NV centers in diamond acting as quantum nodes.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figure

Dynamic generation of maximally entangled photon multiplets by adiabatic passage

The adiabatic passage scheme for quantum state synthesis, in which atomic Zeeman coherences are mapped to photon states in an optical cavity, is extended to the general case of two degenerate cavity modes with orthogonal polarization. Analytical calculations of the dressed-state structure and Monte Carlo wave-function simulations of the system dynamics show that, for a suitably chosen cavity detuning, it is possible to generate states of photon multiplets that are maximally entangled in polarization. These states display nonclassical correlations of the type described by Greenberger, Horne, and Zeilinger (GHZ). An experimental scheme to realize a GHZ measurement using coincidence detection of the photons escaping from the cavity is proposed. The correlations are found to originate in the dynamics of the adiabatic passage and persist even if cavity decay and GHZ state synthesis compete on the same time scale. Beyond entangled field states, it is also possible to generate entanglement between photons and the atom by using a different atomic transition and initial Zeeman state.Comment: 22 pages (RevTeX), including 23 postscript figures. To be published in Physical Review

A non-adiabatic approach to entanglement distribution over long distances

Entanglement distribution between trapped-atom quantum memories, viz. single atoms in optical cavities, is addressed. In most scenarios, the rate of entanglement distribution depends on the efficiency with which the state of traveling single photons can be transferred to trapped atoms. This loading efficiency is analytically studied for two-level, $V$-level, $\Lambda$-level, and double-$\Lambda$-level atomic configurations by means of a system-reservoir approach. An off-resonant non-adiabatic approach to loading $\Lambda$-level trapped-atom memories is proposed, and the ensuing trade-offs between the atom-light coupling rate and input photon bandwidth for achieving a high loading probability are identified. The non-adiabatic approach allows a broad class of optical sources to be used, and in some cases it provides a higher system throughput than what can be achieved by adiabatic loading mechanisms. The analysis is extended to the case of two double-$\Lambda$ trapped-atom memories illuminated by a polarization-entangled biphoton.Comment: 15 pages, 15 figure

An Elementary Quantum Network of Single Atoms in Optical Cavities

Quantum networks are distributed quantum many-body systems with tailored topology and controlled information exchange. They are the backbone of distributed quantum computing architectures and quantum communication. Here we present a prototype of such a quantum network based on single atoms embedded in optical cavities. We show that atom-cavity systems form universal nodes capable of sending, receiving, storing and releasing photonic quantum information. Quantum connectivity between nodes is achieved in the conceptually most fundamental way: by the coherent exchange of a single photon. We demonstrate the faithful transfer of an atomic quantum state and the creation of entanglement between two identical nodes in independent laboratories. The created nonlocal state is manipulated by local qubit rotation. This efficient cavity-based approach to quantum networking is particularly promising as it offers a clear perspective for scalability, thus paving the way towards large-scale quantum networks and their applications.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figure