Long-lived quantum memory

Nature Physics
Published online: 7 December 2008 | doi:10.1038/nphys1152

Long-lived quantum memory
R. Zhao1, Y. O. Dudin1, S. D. Jenkins1,2, C. J. Campbell1, D. N. Matsukevich3, T. A. B. Kennedy1 & A. Kuzmich1

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Quantum memories for the storage and retrieval of quantum information are extremely sensitive to environmental influences, which limits their storage times. The ground states of atoms and ions are potential candidates for quantum memories, but although coherence times of the order of a few seconds for atoms1, 2 and hundreds of seconds for ions3, 4, 5 have been demonstrated, long-lived storage and retrieval of single quantum excitations remains an outstanding challenge. Here, we report a quantum memory using the magnetically insensitive clock transition in atomic rubidium confined in a one-dimensional optical lattice. We observe quantum memory lifetimes exceeding 6 ms, more than two orders of magnitude longer than previously reported6. This advance is an important step towards the realization of long-distance quantum networks and the controlled production of complex entangled states of matter and light.

School of Physics, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332-0430, USA
CNR-INFM, Dipartimento di Fisica e Matematica, Università degli Studi dell'Insubria, Via Valleggio 11 22100 Como, Italy
Department of Physics, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, USA
Correspondence to: S. D. Jenkins1,2 e-mail: stewart.jenkins@physics.gatech.edu