[en] Rydberg states are used in our one atom Maser experiment because they offer a large dipole moment and couple strongly to low numbers of microwave photons in a high-Q cavity. Here, we report the absolute frequencies of the P_3/2 states for principal quantum numbers n = 36-63. These measurements were made with a three step laser excitation scheme. A wavemeter was calibrated against a frequency comb to provide accurate absolute frequency measurements over the entire range, reducing the measurement uncertainty to 1 MHz. We compare the spectroscopic results with known frequency measurements as a test of measurement accuracy.

[en] Engineering and controlling well-defined states of light for quantum information applications is of increasing importance as the complexity of quantum systems grows. For example, in quantum networks, high multi-photon interference visibility requires properly devised pure photon sources. In this paper, we present a theoretical model for a spontaneous parametric down conversion source based on an integrated cavity-waveguide, where single narrow-band, possibly distinct, resonant modes for the idler and the signal fields can be generated. This mode selection takes advantage of the clustering effect, due to the intrinsic dispersion of the nonlinear material. We show that, by engineering the clustering effect in an integrated cavity-waveguide and by using a standard detector, one can efficiently generate heralded pure single photons even with a continuous-wave pumping mode. The photon source proposed in this paper is extremely flexible and could easily be adapted to a wide variety of wavelengths and applications, such as long-distance quantum communication. (paper)

[en] A three-step laser excitation scheme is used to make absolute frequency measurements of highly excited nF_7/2 Rydberg states in ⁸⁵Rb for principal quantum numbers n=33-100. This work demonstrates the first absolute frequency measurements of rubidium Rydberg levels using a purely optical detection scheme. The Rydberg states are excited in a heated Rb vapour cell and Doppler-free signals are detected via purely optical means. All of the frequency measurements are made using a wavemeter that is calibrated against a Global Positioning System (GPS)-disciplined self-referenced optical frequency comb. We find that the measured levels have a very high frequency stability, and are especially robust against electric fields. The apparatus has allowed measurements of the states to an accuracy of 8.0 MHz. The new measurements are analysed by extracting the modified Rydberg-Ritz series parameters.

[en] We perform an experiment to verify the presence of entanglement in photon pairs. By sending down-converted light through dispersive media with opposite group velocity dispersion coefficients, we overcome the minimum broadening of temporal correlation for classical light. Entanglement is proved via an inequality derived directly from Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle. We present a criterion to select a suitable down-conversion source. Moreover, we introduce a new method to analyze the temporal correlations between the entangled photons. (paper)