Quantum Memory with Optically Trapped Atoms

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates an experimental quantum memory using optically trapped atoms, maintaining coherence for up to 60 microseconds, and enabling storage and retrieval of quantum states via Raman scattering.

Contribution

It introduces a novel quantum memory implementation with optical dipole traps that preserves atomic coherence during storage.

Findings

Non-classical correlations observed up to 60 microseconds

Quantum memory successfully stores and retrieves atomic states

Heralded generation of collective atomic states via Raman scattering

Abstract

We report the experimental demonstration of a quantum memory for collective atomic states in a far-detuned optical dipole trap. Generation of the collective atomic state is heralded by the detection of a Raman scattered photon and accompanied by storage in the ensemble of atoms. The optical dipole trap provides confinement for the atoms during the quantum storage while retaining the atomic coherence. We probe the quantum storage by cross-correlation of the photon pair arising from the Raman scattering and the retrieval of the atomic state stored in the memory. Non-classical correlations are observed for storage times up to 60 microseconds.