Time-separated entangled light pulses from a single-atom emitter

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates a method to generate temporally separated entangled light pulses from a single atom in a cavity, utilizing atom motion and photon interactions, with potential for diverse frequency entanglement.

Contribution

It introduces a novel scheme for creating entangled light pulses using a single atom's motion and cavity interactions, feasible with current technology.

Findings

Entanglement mediated via atomic motion and photon-number fluctuations.

Correlation matrix analysis characterizes the entanglement.

Scheme is feasible in accessible experimental regimes.

Abstract

The controlled interaction between a single, trapped, laser-driven atom and the mode of a high-finesse optical cavity allows for the generation of temporally separated, entangled light pulses. Entanglement between the photon-number fluctuations of the pulses is created and mediated via the atomic center-of-mass motion, which is interfaced with light through the mechanical effect of atom-photon interaction. By means of a quantum noise analysis we determine the correlation matrix which characterizes the entanglement, as a function of the system parameters. The scheme is feasible in experimentally accessible parameter regimes. It may be easily extended to the generation of entangled pulses at different frequencies, even at vastly different wavelengths.