Effective Two-Level Dynamics in Confined Alkali Vapors at Telecom Wavelengths

Effective Two-Level Dynamics in Confined Alkali Vapors at Telecom Wavelengths | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Effective Two-Level Dynamics in Confined Alkali Vapors at Telecom Wavelengths Golan Ben-Ari, Gilad Orr, Eliran Talker This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9268286/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 7 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract We demonstrate the emergence of an effective two-level atomic system at telecom wavelengths in hot rubidium vapor confined to a sub-micron-thick cell. In this extreme confinement regime, frequent atom–surface collisions reshape the atomic dynamics by selecting a narrow velocity class of atoms moving nearly parallel to the cell walls. This confinement-induced filtering suppresses optical pumping into intermediate and uncoupled states. As a result, a closed cycling transition in the telecom band becomes the dominant interaction channel, thereby giving rise to a robust effective two-level response. Through combined absorption and fluorescence measurements, supported by a theoretical model incorporating wall-induced relaxation, we show that optical behavior is governed by effectively isolated two-level dynamics. Our results reveal a new mechanism for engineering simplified quantum systems from complex atomic media without external state preparation. This approach enables telecom-compatible, compact atomic platforms with intrinsically reduced decoherence pathways, opening a route toward integrated quantum photonics, including chip-scale quantum memories, telecom frequency references, and scalable quantum information processing. Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files EngineeringNearInfraredTwoLevelSystemsinConfinedAlkaliVaporsV2sup.docx Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Reviews received at journal 04 May, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 05 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 02 Apr, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 02 Apr, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 01 Apr, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 31 Mar, 2026 First submitted to journal 30 Mar, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9268286","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":617964173,"identity":"2f5fac66-3682-4df8-a444-700979a66225","order_by":0,"name":"Golan Ben-Ari","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Ariel University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Golan","middleName":"","lastName":"Ben-Ari","suffix":""},{"id":617964174,"identity":"c71ba70c-6a50-4904-9016-e76d3c319b07","order_by":1,"name":"Gilad Orr","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Ariel University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Gilad","middleName":"","lastName":"Orr","suffix":""},{"id":617964175,"identity":"97b23ed4-4004-46a1-9252-f9e856852f56","order_by":2,"name":"Eliran Talker","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA2klEQVRIie2PsQrCMBCG7zjQSbrWwfYVrrjrq6Q4OLkLDlYC6SSuik/h5ih0cAk+g+IsdFRQMAZEEG1wc8g3JMdxH/8dgMfzj9Qxe3wRgCn2j5Ioq1bIKty2inh1qhT7cmrHrAIOJSBS5WV97c+WxWQvoBM/V/1KU6JcTDUP5rtUsoBekrkW4wIlNBQPMo0qFEDCeUvXKHhT3I815mcBY7fChJJMimCTYs4v3EpoUqil2slKowwFbxPlUoI8P+JJRXGk64eyHI7iICg2lcr7ngC1X+Y9Ho/H85k790Q8kUZXS/4AAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"","institution":"Ariel University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Eliran","middleName":"","lastName":"Talker","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-03-30 14:23:50","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9268286/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9268286/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":106724278,"identity":"aa73b205-2c60-4b37-8358-829e83dc4578","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-04-12 18:27:08","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":579585,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"EngineeringNearInfraredTwoLevelSystemsinConfinedAlkaliVaporsV2.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9268286/v1_covered_86ef74e5-2240-4bd5-88c4-5ad234ef142f.pdf"},{"id":106444556,"identity":"2810da6b-5e52-4d6f-af01-7ea2e9ff6b9b","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-04-08 15:19:46","extension":"docx","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":124367,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"EngineeringNearInfraredTwoLevelSystemsinConfinedAlkaliVaporsV2sup.docx","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9268286/v1/a4a34379baff45921be80229.docx"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Effective Two-Level Dynamics in Confined Alkali Vapors at Telecom Wavelengths","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"epj-quantum-technology","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"epjq","sideBox":"Learn more about [EPJ Quantum Technology](http://epjquantumtechnology.springeropen.com)","snPcode":"40507","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/40507/3","title":"EPJ Quantum Technology","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9268286/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9268286/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eWe demonstrate the emergence of an effective two-level atomic system at telecom wavelengths in hot rubidium vapor confined to a sub-micron-thick cell. In this extreme confinement regime, frequent atom\u0026ndash;surface collisions reshape the atomic dynamics by selecting a narrow velocity class of atoms moving nearly parallel to the cell walls. This confinement-induced filtering suppresses optical pumping into intermediate and uncoupled states. As a result, a closed cycling transition in the telecom band becomes the dominant interaction channel, thereby giving rise to a robust effective two-level response. Through combined absorption and fluorescence measurements, supported by a theoretical model incorporating wall-induced relaxation, we show that optical behavior is governed by effectively isolated two-level dynamics. Our results reveal a new mechanism for engineering simplified quantum systems from complex atomic media without external state preparation. 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