Data capacity scaling of a distributed Rydberg atomic receiver array

Abstract: The data transfer capacity of a communication channel is limited by the Shannon-Hartley theorem and scales as $\text{log}_2(1 + \text{SNR})$ for a single channel with the power signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). We implement an array of atom-optical receivers in a single-input-multi-output (SIMO) configuration by using spatially distributed probe light beams. The data capacity of the distributed receiver configuration is observed to scale as $\text{log}_2(1 + N\times\text{SNR})$ for an array consisting of $N$ receivers. Our result is independent on the modulation frequency, and we show that such enhancement of the bandwidth cannot be obtained by a single receiver with a similar level of combined optical power. We investigate both theoretically and experimentally the origins of the single channel capacity limit for our implementation.