Analyzing Noise in Lambda-Type Quantum Memory.

Physicists at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have conducted the first variance-based sensitivity analysis of Lambda-type optical quantum memory devices, which use a collection of atoms that interacts with two kinds of light to store quantum information. The researchers analyzed the impact of both random device noise and slow overall drift in experimental parameters on a Lambda-type device's memory efficiency, a measure of how often the device works as intended. The results of this analysis have informed the researchers' experimental efforts and developed a framework that allows others to perform the same analyses for their experiments.