Coupling of four-wave mixing and Raman scattering by ground-state atomic coherence

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates a novel coupling between four-wave mixing and Raman scattering via ground-state atomic coherence in rubidium, with potential applications in quantum memory.

Contribution

It introduces a new method to link four-wave mixing with ground-state coherence, enabling quantum memory functionalities.

Findings

Strong correlations observed between Raman scattering and four-wave mixing signals.

The correlations persist during storage, indicating potential for quantum memory.

The process's dependence on laser detunings is characterized.

Abstract

We demonstrate coupling of light resonant to transition between two excited states of rubidium and long-lived ground-state atomic coherence. In our proof-of-principle experiment a non-linear process of four-wave mixing is used to achieve light emission proportional to independently prepared ground-state atomic coherence. Strong correlations between stimulated Raman scattering light heralding generation of ground-state coherence and the four-wave mixing signal are measured and shown to survive the storage period, which is promising in terms of quantum memory applications. The process is characterized as a function of laser detunings.