An experimental setup to generate narrowband bi-photons via four-wave mixing in cold atoms

• N. Arias-Téllez ^[1] ; I.F. Ángeles-Aguillón ^[1] ; D. Martínez-Cara ^[1] ; A. Martínez-Vallejo ^[1] ; L.Y. Villegas-Aguilar ^[1] ; L.A. Mendoza-López ^[1] ; Y.M. Torres ^[1] ; R.A. Gutiérrez-Arenas ^[1] ; R. Jáuregui ^[1] ; D. Sahagún Sánchez ^[1]
  1. [1] Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México

     Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México

     México

     
• Localización: Revista Mexicana de Física, ISSN-e 0035-001X, Vol. 68, Nº. 3, 2022, págs. 462-477
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • We present our recently-built experimental setup designed to generate near-infrared and narrow-band correlated photon pairs by inducing four-wave mixing in a cold gas of ^(87)Rb atoms confined in a magneto-optical trap. The experimental setup and its automation and control approach are described in detail. A characterization of the optical density of the atomic ensemble as well as the basic statistical measurements of the generated light are reported. The non-classical nature of the photon pairs is confirmed by observing a violation of Cauchy-Schwarz inequality by a factor of 5.6×10^(5) in a Hanbury Brown – Twiss interferometer. A 1/e coherence time for the heralded, idler photons of 4.4±0.1 ns is estimated from our observations. We are able to achieve a value of 10^(4)s^(−1) pair-detection-rate, which results in a spectral brightness of 280 (MHz s)^(−1). The combination of high brightness and narrow-band spectrum makes this photon-pair source a viable tool in fundamental studies of quantum states and opens the door to use them in quantum technologies.