4-level ladder electromagnetic induced transparency quantum antenna: experiment

Quantum Information Science & Technologies (QIST) is a topic of national priority. QIST has the potential to enable a new generation of transformative sensors similar to the transformative impact that the Global Positioning System (GPS), nuclear spin control for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and atomic clocks had in the last century. Researchers in the Photonics Researcher Center's Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics program (PRC-AMO) at the United States Military Academy are working to establish an education-centered QIST research laboratory with an initial focus on Quantum Sensors. Our immediate research objective is the demonstration of an operational Rydberg-atom (rubidium-based) Radio Frequency (RF) antenna capable of quantitative E-field meteorology, achieved through two parallel lines of effort: developing the theoretical model of a 4-level ladder system coupled with noise and the sharp absorption features in the electromagnetic induced transparency (EIT) spectra, and the provisioning of the QIST laboratory, to include all necessary optical accessories and lasers. We report on our progress demonstrating an EIT-based quantum antenna.