Heralded atomic-ensemble quantum memory for photon polarization states

We describe the mapping of quantum states between single photons and an atomic ensemble. In particular, we demonstrate a heralded quantum memory based on the mapping of a photon polarization state onto a single collective-spin excitation (magnon) shared between two atomic ensembles. The polarization fidelity above 90(2)% for any input polarization far exceeds the classical limit of . The process also constitutes a quantum non-destructive probe that detects and regenerates a photon without measuring its polarization.