Limits of single-photon storage in a single $\Lambda$-type atom

Abstract

We theoretically investigate the limits of single-photon storage in a single $\Lambda$-type atom, specifically the trade-off between storage efficiency and storage speed. We show that a control field can accelerate the storage process without degrading efficiency too much. However, the storage speed is ultimately limited by the total decay rate of the involved excited state. For a single-photon pulse propagating in a regular one-dimensional waveguide, the storage efficiency has an upper limit of $50\%$. Perfect single-photon storage can be achieved by using a chiral waveguide or the Sagnac interferometry. By comparing the storage efficiencies of Fock-state and coherent-state pulses, we reveal the influence of quantum statistics of light on photon storage at the single-photon level.

10 pages and 10 figures

References in corpus (27)

• The Quantum Internet
• Microwave photonics with superconducting quantum circuits
• Chiral nanophotonic waveguide interface based on spin-orbit coupling of light
• Controllable scattering of photons inside a one-dimensional resonator waveguide
• Theory of single-photon transport in a single-mode waveguide coupled to a cavity containing a two-level atom
• A Single-Atom Quantum Memory
• Towards a global quantum network
• Universal Approach to Optimal Photon Storage in Atomic Media
• Reversible state transfer between light and a single trapped atom
• Persistent Quantum Beats and Long-Distance Entanglement from Waveguide-Mediated Interactions
• Efficient quantum memory for single photon polarization qubits
• Photon storage in Lambda-type optically dense atomic media. II. Free-space model
• Photon storage in Lambda-type optically dense atomic media. I. Cavity model
• Mapping broadband single-photon wavepackets into an atomic memory
• Coherent Optical Memory with High Storage Efficiency and Large Fractional Delay
• Non-reciprocal few-photon devices based on chiral waveguide-emitter couplings
• Nonreciprocal and chiral single-photon scattering for giant atoms
• Single-photon frequency conversion via a giant $\Lambda$-type atom
• Photon storage in Lambda-type optically dense atomic media. IV. Optimal control using gradient ascent
• Single-photon scattering in a giant-molecule waveguide-QED system
• Dynamical theory of single photon transport in a one-dimensional waveguide coupled to identical and non-identical emitters
• Atomic spin-controlled non-reciprocal Raman amplification of fibre-guided light
• On-demand storage of photonic qubits at telecom wavelengths
• Storage and analysis of light-matter entanglement in a fibre-integrated system
• Electromagnetically induced transparency and four-wave mixing in a cold atomic ensemble with large optical depth
• Efficient single-photon frequency conversion in the microwave domain using superconducting quantum circuits
• Unconventional Quantum Electrodynamics with Hofstadter-Ladder Waveguide

Cited by in corpus (1)

• Fast storage of photons in cavity-assisted quantum memories