Two-color quantum memory in double-Λ media

Abstract

We propose a quantum memory for a single-photon wave packet in a superposition of two different colors, i.e., two different frequency components, using the electromagnetically induced transparency technique in a double-Λ system. We examine a specific configuration in which the two frequency components are able to exchange energy through a four-wave mixing process as they propagate, so the state of the incident photon is recovered periodically at certain positions in the medium. We investigate the propagation dynamics as a function of the relative phase between the coupling beams and the input single-photon frequency components. Moreover, by considering time-dependent coupling beams, we numerically simulate the storage and retrieval of a two-frequency-component single-photon qubit. © 2012 American Physical Society.