Physics
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Item Experiments with Frequency Converted Photons from a Trapped Atomic Ion(2022) Hannegan, John Michael; Quraishi, Qudsia; Linke, Norbert; Physics; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Trapped atomic ions excel as local quantum information processing nodes, given their long qubit coherence times combined with high fidelity single-qubit and multi-qubit gate operations. Trapped ion systems also readily emit photons as flying qubits, making efforts towards construction of large-scale and long-distance trapped-ion-based quantum networks very appealing. Two-node trapped-ion quantum networks have demonstrated a desirable combination of high-rate and high-fidelity remote entanglement generation, but these networks have been limited to only a few meters in length. This limitation is primarily due to large fiber-optic propagation losses experienced by the ultraviolet and visible photons typically emitted by trapped ions. These wavelengths are also incompatible with existing telecommunications technology and infrastructure, as well as being incompatible with many other emerging quantum technologies designed for useful tasks such as single photon storage, measurement, and routing, limiting the scalability of ion-based networks. In this thesis, I discuss a series of experiments where we introduce quantum frequency conversion to convert single photons at 493 nm, produced by and entangled with a single trapped $^{138}$Ba$^+$ ion, to near infrared wavelengths for reduced network transmission losses and improved quantum networking capabilities. This work is the first-ever to frequency convert Ba$^+$ photons, being one of three nearly concurrent demonstrations of frequency converted photons from any trapped ion. After discussing our experimental techniques and laboratory setup, I first showcase our quantum frequency converters that convert ion-produced single photons to both 780 nm and 1534 nm for improved quantum networking range, whilst preserving the photons' quantum properties. Following this, I present two hybrid quantum networking experiments where we interact converted ion-photons near 780 nm with neutral $^{87}$Rb systems. In the initial experiment, we observe, for the first time, interactions between converted ion-photons and neutral Rb vapor via slow light. The following experiment is a multi-laboratory project where we observe Hong-Ou-Mandel interference between converted ion-photons and photons produced by an ensemble of neutral Rb atoms, where notably these sources are located in different buildings and are connected and synchronized via optical fiber. Finally, I describe an experiment in which we verify entanglement between a $^{138}$Ba$^+$ ion and converted photons near 780 nm. These results are critical steps towards producing remote entanglement between trapped ion and neutral atom quantum networking nodes. Motivated by these experimental results, I conclude by presenting a theoretical hybrid-networking architecture where neutral-atomic based nondestructive single photon measurement and storage can be integrated into a long-distance trapped-ion based quantum network to potentially improve remote entanglement rates.Item Chiral Quantum Optics using Topological Photonics(2020) Barik, Sabaysachi; Waks, Edo EW; Hafezi, Mohammad MF; Physics; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Topological photonics has opened new avenues to designing photonic devices along with opening a plethora of applications. Recently, even though there have been many interesting studies in topological photonics in the classical domain, the quantum regime has remained largely unexplored. In this thesis, I will demonstrate a recently developed topological photonic crystal structure for interfacing a single quantum dot spin with a photon to realize light-matter interaction with topolog-ical photonic states. Developed on a thin slab of Gallium Arsenide(GaAs) mem- brane with electron beam lithography, such a device supports two robust counter- propagating edge states at the boundary of two distinct topological photonic crystals at near-IR wavelength. I will show the chiral coupling of circularly polarized lights emitted from a single Indium Arsenide(InAs) quantum dot under a strong magnetic field into these topological edge modes. Owing to the topological nature of these guided modes, I will demonstrate this photon routing to be robust against sharp corners along the waveguide. Additionally, taking it further into the cavity-QED regime, we will build a topological photonic crystal resonator. This new type of resonator will be based on valley-Hall topological physics and sustain two counter- propagating resonator modes. Thanks to the robustness of the topological edge modes to sharp bends, the newly formed resonators can take various shapes, the simplest one being a triangular optical resonator. We will study the chiral coupling of such resonator modes with a single quantum dot emission. Moreover, we will show an intensity enhancement of a single dot emission when it resonantly couples with a cavity mode. This new topological photonic crystal platform paves paths for fault-tolerant complex photonic circuits, secure quantum computation, and explor- ing unconventional quantum states of light and chiral spin networks.Item Photon Thermalization in Driven Open Quantum Systems(2018) Wang, Chiao-Hsuan; Taylor, Jacob M; Physics; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Light is a paradigmatic quantum field, with individual excitations---photons---that are the most accessible massless particles known. However, their lack of mass and extremely weak interactions mean that typically the thermal description of light is that of blackbody radiation. As the temperature of the light decreases, the overall number of photons approaches zero. Therefore, efforts for quantum optics and optical physics have mostly focused on driving systems far from equilibrium to populate sufficient numbers of photons. While lasers provide a severe example of a nonequilibrium problem, recent interests in the near-equilibrium physics of so-called photon gases, such as in Bose condensation of light or in attempts to make photonic quantum simulators, suggest one re-examine near-equilibrium cases. In this thesis, we consider peculiar driven open quantum system scenarios where near-equilibrium dynamics can lead to equilibration of photons with a finite number, following a thermal description closer to that of an ideal gas than to blackbody radiation. Specifically, we show how laser cooling of a well-isolated mechanical mode or atomic motion can provide an effective bath which enables control of both the chemical potential and temperature of the resulting grand canonical ensemble of photon. We then theoretically demonstrate that Bose condensation of photons can be realized by cooling an ensemble of two-level atoms inside a cavity. Finally, we find that the engineered chemical potential for light not only admits future applications in many-body quantum simulations, facilitates preparation of near-equilibrium photonic states, but also enables an analogous voltage bias for photonic circuit elements.