Optimal mode configuration for multiple phase-matched four-wave mixing processes

Abstract: We demonstrate an unseeded, multimode four-wave mixing process in hot $^{85}$Rb vapor, using two pump beams of the same frequency that cross at a small angle. This results in the simultaneous fulfillment of multiple phase-matching conditions that reinforce one another to produce four intensity-stabilized bright output modes at two different frequencies. Each generated photon is directly correlated to exactly two others, resulting in the preferred four-mode output, in contrast to other multimode four-wave mixing experiments. This provides significant insight into the optimal configuration of the output multimode squeezed and entangled states generated in such four-wave mixing systems. We examine the power, temperature and frequency dependence of this new output and compare to the conical four-wave mixing emission from a single pump beam. The generated beams are spatially separated, allowing a natural distribution for potential use in quantum communication and secret-sharing protocols.