title: Storage and control of optical photons using Rydberg polaritons.
abstract: We use a microwave field to control the quantum state of optical photons stored in a cold atomic cloud. The photons are stored in highly excited collective states (Rydberg polaritons) enabling both fast qubit rotations and control of photon-photon interactions. Through the collective read-out of these pseudospin rotations it is shown that the microwave field modifies the long-range interactions between polaritons. This technique provides a powerful interface between the microwave and optical domains, with applications in quantum simulations of spin liquids, quantum metrology and quantum networks.
authors.affiliation: Joint Quantum Centre Durham-Newcastle, Department of Physics, Durham University, Rochester Building, South Road, Durham DH1 3LE, United Kingdom. daniel.maxwell@durham.ac.uk
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Maxwell
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Szwer
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Paredes-Barato
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Busche
authors.forename: J D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Pritchard
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gauguet
authors.forename: K J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Weatherill
authors.forename: M P A
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.forename: C S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Adams
mesh_terms: D008872:Microwaves; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D055095:Optics and Photonics / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D060739:Phonons; D017785:Photons; D011789:Quantum Theory