21 research outputs found
Feedback control of trapped coherent atomic ensembles
We demonstrate how to use feedback to control the internal states of trapped
coherent ensembles of two-level atoms, and to protect a superposition state
against the decoherence induced by a collective noise. Our feedback scheme is
based on weak optical measurements with negligible back-action and coherent
microwave manipulations. The efficiency of the feedback system is studied for a
simple binary noise model and characterized in terms of the trade-off between
information retrieval and destructivity from the optical probe. We also
demonstrate the correction of more general types of collective noise. This
technique can be used for the operation of atomic interferometers beyond the
standard Ramsey scheme, opening the way towards improved atomic sensors.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figure
Spin-squeezing and Dicke state preparation by heterodyne measurement
We investigate the quantum non-demolition (QND) measurement of an atomic
population based on a heterodyne detection and show that the induced
back-action allows to prepare both spin-squeezed and Dicke states. We use a
wavevector formalism to describe the stochastic process of the measurement and
the associated atomic evolution. Analytical formulas of the atomic distribution
momenta are derived in the weak coupling regime both for short and long time
behavior, and they are in good agreement with those obtained by a Monte-Carlo
simulation. The experimental implementation of the proposed heterodyne
detection scheme is discussed. The role played in the squeezing process by the
spontaneous emission is considered
In situ characterization of an optical cavity using atomic light shift
We report the precise characterization of the optical potential obtained by
injecting a distributed-feedback erbium-doped fiber laser (DFB EDFL) at 1560 nm
to the transversal modes of a folded optical cavity. The optical potential was
mapped in situ using cold rubidium atoms, whose potential energy was spectrally
resolved thanks to the strong differential light shift induced by the 1560 nm
laser on the two levels of the probe transition. The optical potential obtained
in the cavity is suitable for trapping rubidium atoms, and eventually to
achieve all-optical Bose-Einstein condensation directly in the resonator.Comment: 3 pages, 4 figure
Heterodyne non-demolition measurements on cold atomic samples: towards the preparation of non-classical states for atom interferometry
We report on a novel experiment to generate non-classical atomic states via
quantum non-demolition (QND) measurements on cold atomic samples prepared in a
high finesse ring cavity. The heterodyne technique developed for the QND
detection exhibits an optical shot-noise limited behavior for local oscillator
optical power of a few hundred \muW, and a detection bandwidth of several GHz.
This detection tool is used in single pass to follow non destructively the
internal state evolution of an atomic sample when subjected to Rabi
oscillations or a spin-echo interferometric sequence.Comment: 23 page
Feedback control of coherent spin states using weak nondestructive measurements
We consider the decoherence of a pseudo-spin ensemble under collective random rotations, and study, both theoretically and experimentally, how a nondestructive measurement combined with real-time feedback correction can protect the state against such a decoherence process. We theoretically characterize the feedback efficiency with different parameters --- coherence, entropy, fidelity --- and show that a maximum efficiency is reached in the weak measurement regime, when the projection of the state induced by the measurement is negligible. This article presents in detail the experimental results published in [Phys. Rev. Lett. \textbf{110}, 210503 (2013)], where the feedback scheme stabilizes coherent spin states of trapped ultra-cold atoms, and nondestructively probed with a dispersive optical detection. In addition, we study the influence of several parameters, such as atom number and rotation angle, on the performance of the method. We analyze the various decoherence sources limiting the feedback efficiency and propose how to mitigate their effect. The results demonstrate the potential of the method for the real-time coherent control of atom interferometers