Joan Marler
Northwestern University
Strong Coupling of Light
and Ions at the Single Photon Level.
In quantum information science a long lasting challenge is the creation of an efficient quantum interface between light and matter. Experimental progress, within recent years, has made it possible to trap single atoms inside small optical cavities making the coherent process of photon-atom coupling faster than any dissipative processes, such as spontaneous emission by the atom or photon loss from the cavity.
Clouds of cold ions represent an interesting alternative system to a single atom. When trapped and cooled below a critical temperature, ions form a spatially ordered state, referred to as an ion Coulomb crystal. We have recently succeeded in trapping such ion Coulomb crystals inside a high finesse optical cavity and have observed collective strong coupling in this system. These results combined with the long coherence times of ion Coulomb crystals make this system a promising candidate for the realization of various quantum information devices, including quantum repeaters and quantum memories.
*Work performed at the in the group of Michael Drewsen at the University of Aarhus, Denmark
Wednesday, October 28, 2009 at 12:00 PM
Room F235, Technological Institute
Refreshments are served at 12:00 PM
