Controlling Rydberg atom-polariton interactions: from exceptional points to fast readout

• URL: http://arxiv.org/abs/2601.06345v1
• Date: Fri, 09 Jan 2026 22:55:38 GMT
• Title: Controlling Rydberg atom-polariton interactions: from exceptional points to fast readout
• Authors: Tamara Šumarac, Emily H. Qiu, Shai Tsesses, Peiran Niu, Adrian J. Menssen, Wenchao Xu, Valentin Walther, Uroš Delić, Soonwon Choi, Mikhail D. Lukin, Vladan Vuletić,
• Abstract summary: Rydberg atoms facilitate optical nonlinearity at the single-photon level when coupled to photons propagating in atomic clouds.<n>We experimentally explore interactions between a Rydberg polariton in an atomic ensemble and a single, adjacent, Rydberg atom.<n>We present proof-of-principle demonstrations for their potential application in nonlinear photonic networks.
• Score: 7.1168748596419915
• License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
• Abstract: Rydberg atoms represent a platform underpinning many recent developments in quantum computation, simulation, sensing, and metrology. They further facilitate optical nonlinearity at the single-photon level when coupled to photons propagating in atomic clouds, which form collective atomic excitations called Rydberg polaritons, strongly interacting with each other. Here, we experimentally explore interactions between a Rydberg polariton in an atomic ensemble and a single, adjacent, Rydberg atom. We discover three different regimes of quantum dynamics corresponding to polariton blockade, coherent exchange, and probabilistic hopping, which are defined by their distinct transmission characteristics, with a transition through an exceptional point occurring between blockade and coherent exchange. We investigate the applications of such interactions for fast, non-destructive detection of Rydberg atoms and present proof-of-principle demonstrations for their potential application in nonlinear photonic networks.

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