Storage and retrieval of interacting photons in a Rydberg medium

Abstract

Storing interacting photons in ensembles of highly excited Rydberg atoms makes it possible to realize photon-photon gates. The efficiency of stopping and retrieving pairs of single-photon pulses in any Rydberg medium is, however, significantly influenced by their mutual interaction. The corresponding dynamical process is rather complicated due to the interaction constantly changing with the relative positions of photon pulses and the associated dissipation. Applying the numerical calculations based on first principles, we reveal the detail of such a dynamical process by showing how the interacting pulses evolve in various situations. Other important issues, such as the use of nonadiabatic passage for stopping photons and the optimal way to regenerate photons, are also investigated.