Introduction to quantum optics

lphys2141  2019-2020  Louvain-la-Neuve

Introduction to quantum optics
Note from June 29, 2020
Although we do not yet know how long the social distancing related to the Covid-19 pandemic will last, and regardless of the changes that had to be made in the evaluation of the June 2020 session in relation to what is provided for in this learning unit description, new learnig unit evaluation methods may still be adopted by the teachers; details of these methods have been - or will be - communicated to the students by the teachers, as soon as possible.
5 credits
22.5 h + 7.5 h
Q1
Teacher(s)
Piraux Bernard; Urbain Xavier;
Language
English
Prerequisites
Having followed LPHYS1241,  LPHYS1342 and LPHYS1344is an asset.
Main themes
Light-matter interactions, coherent population transfer, cold atoms, Bose-Einstein condensate, atomic clocks, NMR and MRI, scattering theory
Aims

At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to :

1 a.     Contribution of the teaching unit to the learning outcomes of the programme (PHYS2M and PHYS2M1)
AA 1.1, AA 1.2, AA 1.5, AA1.6, AA 3.1, AA 3.3, AA 5.4
b.    Specific learning outcomes of the teaching unit
At the end of this teaching unit, the student will be able to:
1.      describe the laser-atom interaction with Hamiltonian and density matrix formalisms ;
2.      describe the essential steps leading to atom trapping, cooling and condensation ;
3.      determine the experimental parameters for Doppler and sub-Doppler cooling ;
4.      describe the essential steps leading to nuclear magnetic resonance imaging ;
5.      give a quantum definition of scattering and master the concept of cross section.
 

The contribution of this Teaching Unit to the development and command of the skills and learning outcomes of the programme(s) can be accessed at the end of this sheet, in the section entitled “Programmes/courses offering this Teaching Unit”.
Content
Laser-atom interactions : two-state model – Rabi oscillations, adiabatic rapid passage, Bloch vector, Ramsey fringes, saturated absorption, and three-state model – optical pumping, two-photon spectroscopy, STIRAP, induced electromagnetic transparency, slow light. Cold atoms, atomic traps and Bose-Einstein condensates : Doppler and sub-Doppler cooling, magneto-optical and dipole trap, evaporative cooling, statistical mechanics of boson condensation, condensate properties, atom lasers. Applications of cold atoms to metrology : atomic clocks, atomic fountains, cold ions in Lamb-Dicke regime, quantum jumps, atomic qubits. Density matrix and Von Neumann-Liouville equation. Introduction to the principles of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) : magnetic Bloch equations, spin echoes, Fourier Transform NMR, basic MRI pulse sequences. Introduction to scattering theory (concept of cross section).
Teaching methods
Lectures, video animations, numerical applications, exercises, laboratory demonstrations.
Evaluation methods
Written examination, closed and open questions
Bibliography
M. Fox « Quantum Optics. An introduction », Oxford Master Series in Atomic, Optical, and Laser Physics, 2006.
M. Fox « Optique quantique. Une introduction », trad. B. Piraux, De Boeck Université, 2011.
P.Lambropoulos and D.Petrosyan « Fundamentals of Quantum Optics and Quantum Information », Springer, 2007.
C. Cohen –Tannoudji, Bernard Diu, Franck Laloë, “Mécanique quantique, tome III”, CNRS Editions, EDP Sciences – Collection: Savoirs Actuels, 2017.
S. Haroche and J.-M. Raimond « Exploring the Quantum », Oxford, 2007.
M.O. Scully & M.S. Zubairy « Quantum Optics », Cambridge University Press, 1997.
Faculty or entity
PHYS


Programmes / formations proposant cette unité d'enseignement (UE)

Title of the programme
Sigle
Credits
Prerequisites
Aims
Master [120] in Physical Engineering

Master [60] in Physics

Master [120] in Physics