Deterministic multimode photonic device for quantum-information processing

We propose the implementation of a light source that can deterministically generate a rich variety of multimode quantum states. The desired states are encoded in the collective population of different ground hyperfine states of an atomic ensemble and converted to multimode photonic states by excitation to optically excited levels followed by cooperative spontaneous emission. Among our examples of applications, we demonstrate how two-photon-entangled states can be prepared and implemented in a protocol for a reference-frame-free quantum key distribution and how one-dimensional as well as higher-dimensional cluster states can be produced.