Free-space photonic quantum link and chiral quantum optics
Andrey Grankin, P.-O. Guimond, Denis V. Vasilyev, Benoît Vermersch, P. Zoller · Physical Review A · 2018
We present the design of a chiral photonic quantum link, where distant atoms interact by exchanging photons propagating in a single direction in free space. This is achieved by coupling each atom in a laser-assisted process to an atomic array acting as a quantum phased-array antenna. This provides a basic building block for quantum networks in free space, i.e., without requiring cavities or nanostructures, which we illustrate with high-fidelity quantum state transfer protocols. Our setup can be implemented with neutral atoms using Rydberg-dressed interactions.