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Spectral theory of quantum memory and entanglement via Raman scattering of light by an atomic ensemble

We discuss theoretically quantum interface between light and a spin polarized ensemble of atoms with the spin >= 1 based on an off-resonant Raman scattering. We present the spectral theory of the light-atoms interaction and show how particular spectral modes of quantum light couple to spatial modes of the extended atomic ensemble. We show how this interaction can be used for quantum memory storage and retrieval and for deterministic entanglement protocols. The proposed protocols are attractive due to their simplicity since they involve just a single pass of light through atoms without the need for elaborate pulse shaping or quantum feedback. As a practically relevant example we consider the interaction of a light pulse with hyperfine components of D1 line of 87Rb. The quality of the proposed protocols is verified via analytical and numerical analysis.