Tunable photonic band gaps with coherently driven atoms in optical lattices

TL;DR

This paper explores how coherently driven atoms in optical lattices can create tunable photonic band gaps, enabling low-light-level quantum control and potential applications in quantum information processing.

Contribution

It demonstrates a system where atomic coherence and optical lattices produce adjustable photonic band gaps with enhanced properties for quantum photonics.

Findings

Tunable photonic band gaps achieved with cold atoms in optical lattices.

Reduced Raman coherence relaxation and probe absorption.

Potential for deterministic entanglement of weak quantum fields.

Abstract

Optical lattice loaded with cold atoms can exhibit a tunable photonic band gap for a weak probe field under the conditions of electromagnetically induced transparency. This system possesses a number of advantageous properties, including reduced relaxation of Raman coherence and the associated probe absorption, and simultaneous enhancement of the index modulation and the resulting reflectivity of the medium. This flexible system has a potential to serve as a testbed of various designs for the linear and nonlinear photonic band gap materials at a very low light level and can be employed for realizing deterministic entanglement between weak quantum fields.