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Updated: May 19, 2026

Direct Imaging of Laser-driven Ultrafast Molecular Rotation
Published on: February 4, 2017
Tomography of a high-purity narrowband photon from a transient atomic collective excitation
1Institute for Quantum Information Science, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta T2N 1N4, Canada.
Abstract:
We demonstrate efficient heralded generation of high purity narrow-bandwidth single photons from a transient collective spin excitation in a hot atomic vapor cell. Employing optical homodyne tomography, we fully reconstruct the density matrix of the generated photon and observe a Wigner function reaching the zero value without correcting for any inefficiencies. The narrow bandwidth of the photon produced is accompanied by a high generation rate yielding a high spectral brightness. The source is, therefore, compatible with atomic-based quantum memories as well as other applications in light-atom interfacing. This Letter paves the way to preparing and measuring arbitrary superposition states of collective atomic excitations.
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