Laboratory of Quantum Photonics

Head: Dariusz Dziczek

Main equipment:
System for fundamental investigation of coherent interactions of light with ensembles of atoms.

Research subjects:
Electromagnetic radiation resonant with transitions in complex structures of real atomic states generates multiple effects in atomic ensembles. In simultaneous interaction with multiple laser beams the optical pumping combines with the coherent population trapping (CPT). Light-induced atomic polarization, including its coherent forms, is affected by relaxation processes - movement and collisions of atoms. These factors inevitably influence the phenomena associated with electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) - slow propagation of light pulses and reversible imprint of radiation state in atoms ("light storage") which are the main research subjects in the laboratory. Practical implementations of quantum communication and processing devices - optical buffers and optically controlled functors, for example - based on these effects will reflect both the possible control mechanisms and the limitations following from intricate dependencies in realistic atomic media. Detailed experimental studies are needed to comprehend them at the level allowing non-simplistic modeling of coherent interactions and- eventually - their utilization in technology.

Cooperation with specialists experienced in comprehensive modeling of realistic atomic ensembles interacting with light would be very welcome as well as experimentalists wishing to take a part in ongoing research or with ideas of new experiments.