Contrary to common intuition, we show that a single photon of extremely short duration, which thus possesses a wide range of different color hues, can strongly interact with very monochromatic atoms. The interaction provokes a deep modulation of the photon temporal shape, with positive and negative lobes that result in a null area. However, since almost no absorption takes place, energy is conserved and a single, heavily deformed, photon is still present at the end.
The ability to reliably produce and detect such zero-area single photon pulses is not only intriguing from a fundamental point of view, but it also offers exciting new opportunities for quantum information technologies.

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News by Bellini Marco