Research
We use ultrashort pulses of laser light (10-13 second duration) to probe the dynamics of light-matter interaction. Our current interests include ultrafast quantum optics and optical studies of electron spin dynamics in magnetic materials.
Photonic Quantum State Engineering
We develop photonic sources for quantum applications such as quantum computing, quantum communication, and fundamental tests of quantum mechanics. This includes developing and demonstrating the generation of entangled quantum states, new characterization techniques, and methods for tailoring the quantum states of photons.
Karina Garay-Palmett, Dong Beom Kim, Yujie Zhang, Francisco A. Domínguez-Serna, Virginia O. Lorenz, and Alfred B. U’Ren, "Fiber-based photon-pair generation: tutorial," Journal of the Optical Society of America B 40, 469-490 (2023).
B. Fang, M. Menotti, M. Liscidini, J. E. Sipe and V. O. Lorenz, "Three-photon discrete-energy-entangled W state in optical fiber," Phys. Rev. Lett. 123, 070508 (2019).
Y. Zhang, R. Spiniolas, K. Shinbrough, B. Fang, O. Cohen, and V. O. Lorenz, "Dual-pump approach to photon-pair generation: demonstration of enhanced characterization and engineering capabilities," Opt. Express 27, 19050-19061 (2019).
K. Zielnicki, K. Garay-Palmett, D. Cruz-Delgado, H. Cruz-Ramirez, M. F. O’Boyle, B. Fang, V. O. Lorenz, A. B. U’Ren and P. G. Kwiat, "Joint spectral characterization of photon-pair sources," J. Mod. Optics 65, 1141-1160 (2018).
B. Fang, M. Liscidini, J. E. Sipe, and V. O. Lorenz, "Multidimensional characterization of an entangled photon-pair source via stimulated emission tomography," Opt. Express 24, 10013-10019 (2016).
B. Fang, O. Cohen, M. Liscidini, J. E. Sipe, and V. O. Lorenz, "Fast and highly resolved capture of the joint spectral density of photon pairs," Optica 1, 281–4 (2014).
B. Fang, O. Cohen, and V. O. Lorenz, "Polarization-Entangled Photon-Pair Generation in Commercial-Grade Polarization-Maintaining Fiber," J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 31, 277-281 (2014).
B. Fang, O. Cohen, J. B. Moreno and V. O. Lorenz, "State engineering of photon pairs produced through dual-pump spontaneous four-wave mixing," Opt. Express 21, 2707-2717 (2013).
Quantum Light-Matter Interaction
We investigate the generation and storage of photonic quantum states using atomic vapors, and single-photon-level spectroscopy of molecular liquid vibrational states.
Kai Shinbrough and Virginia O. Lorenz, "Variance-based sensitivity analysis of Lambda-type quantum memory," Phys. Rev. A 107, 033703 (2023).
Kai Shinbrough, Benjamin D. Hunt, Virginia O. Lorenz, "Optimization of broadband Λ-type quantum memory using Gaussian pulses," Phys. Rev. A 103, 062418 (2021).
Kai Shinbrough, Yanting Teng, Bin Fang, Virginia O. Lorenz, and Offir Cohen, "Photon-Matter Quantum Correlations in Spontaneous Raman Scattering," Phys. Rev. A 101, 013415 (2020).
S. Meiselman, O. Cohen, M. F. DeCamp, and V. O. Lorenz, "Observation of coherence oscillations of single ensemble excitations in methanol," J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 31, 2131–2135 (2014).
Optical Magnetometry
We develop methods based on the magneto-optic Kerr effect and nonlinear optics to study the dynamics of electron spin in magnetic systems.
W. Wang, T. Wang, V. P. Amin, Y. Wang, A. Radhakrishnan, A. Davidson, S. R. Allen, T. J. Silva, H. Ohldag, D. Balzar, B. L. Zink, P. M. Haney, J. Q. Xiao, D. G. Cahill, V. O. Lorenz and X. Fan, "Anomalous spin–orbit torques in magnetic single-layer films," Nat. Nanotechnol. 14, 819-821 (2019).
H. Celik, H. Kannan, T. Wang, A. R. Mellnik, X. Fan, X. Zhou, R. Barri, D. C. Ralph, M. F. Doty, V. O. Lorenz and J. Q. Xiao, "Vector-resolved magneto-optic Kerr effect measurements of spin-orbit torque," IEEE Trans. Magn. 55, 1-5 (2019).
T. Wang, W. Wang, Y. Xie, M. A. Warsi, J. Wu, Y. Chen, V. O. Lorenz, X. Fan, and J. Q. Xiao, "Large spin Hall angle in vanadium film," Scientific Reports 7, 1306 (2017).
X. Fan, A. Mellnik, W. Wang, N. Reynolds, T. Wang, H. Celik, V. Lorenz, D. Ralph, and J. Xiao, "All-Optical Vector Measurement of Spin-Orbit-Induced Torques Using Both Polar and Quadratic Magneto-Optic Kerr Effects," Applied Physics Letters 109, 122406 (2016).
X. Fan, H. Celik, J. Wu, C. Ni, K.-J. Lee, V. O. Lorenz, J. Q. Xiao, "Quantifying interface and bulk contributions to spin-orbit torque in magnetic bilayers," Nature Communications 5, 3042 (2014).