976 publications from this institution
The creation of single collective excitations in atomic ensembles via spontaneous Raman emission plays a key role in several quantum communication protocols, starting with the seminal DLCZ protocol [L.-M.Duan, M.D. Lukin, J.I. Cirac, and P. Zoller, Nature {\bf 414}, 413 (2001).] This process is usually analyzed theoretically under the assumptions that the write laser pulse inducing the Raman transition is far off-resonance, and that the atomic ensemble is only homogeneously broadened. Here we study the impact of near-resonance excitation for inhomogeneously broadened ensembles on the collective character of the created atomic excitation. Our results are particularly relevant for experiments with hot atomic gases and for potential future solid-state implementations.
We present bipartite Bell-type inequalities which allow the two partners to use some nonlocal resource. Such inequalities can only be violated if the parties use a resource which is more nonlocal than the one permitted by the inequality. We introduce a family of N-input nonlocal machines, which are generalizations of the well-known PR (Popescu-Rohrlich) box. Then we construct Bell-type inequalities that cannot be violated by strategies that use one of these new machines. Finally we discuss implications for the simulation of quantum states.
