Data Capacity Scaling Of A Distributed Rydberg Atomic Receiver Array

The data transfer capacity of a communication channel is limited by the Shannon-Hartley theorem and scales as log(2)(1 + SNR) for a single channel with a given power signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). We implement an array of atom-optical receivers in a single-input-multi-output configuration by using spatially distributed probe light beams. The data capacity of the distributed receiver configuration is observed to scale as log(2)(1 + N x SNR) for an array consisting of N receivers. Our result is independent of 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. Published under an exclusive license by AIP Publishing.