Storing and manipulating electromagnetic systems using atoms: a cold-atom quantum memory and a room-temperature atomic radio
Abstract: The ability to store and manipulate quantum information encoded in electromagnetic (often optical) signals represents one of the key tasks for quantum communications and computation schemes. In this talk, I will discuss two platforms our group is using to manipulate electromagnetic signals with atoms: With a cold and ultracold atomic systems, we have developed and characterized an efficient and broadband quantum memory that operates in a regime that makes use of Autler-Townes splitting (ATS). We demonstrate on-demand storage and retrieval of both high-power and less-than-one-photon optical signals with total efficiencies up to 30%, using the ground state spin-wave as our storage states. We also realize a number of photonic manipulations, including temporal beamsplitting, frequency conversion, and pulse shaping. In a second, a room-temperature atomic vapour system, we have developed a scheme for radio signal transduction between a microwave and an optical carrier, all mediated through the atoms with the help of a resonant microwave cavity. We are further exploring this promising atomic-vapour + microwave-cavity platform for applications related to optical quantum memory and quantum sensing.
Bio: Lindsay LeBlanc (she/her) is an experimental atomic physicist working with ultracold atoms and quantum technologies. Her current work focuses on both fundamental research and practical applications using atomic physics techniques. With her team, she is currently engaged in three research directions: quantum simulations with ultracold atoms; quantum memories in atomic systems; and hybrid quantum systems, with a focus on microwave interactions and technologies. Lindsay earned her BSc in Engineering Physics from the University of Alberta in 2003 and her Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Toronto in 2011, after which she joined the Joint Quantum Institute in Maryland in 2013 as a postdoctoral fellow, before returning to join the University of Alberta where she is Canada Research Chair in Ultracold Quantum Gases and Associate Professor in Physics.
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