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Lei M, Fukumori R, Rochman J, Zhu B, Endres M, Choi J, Faraon A. Many-body cavity quantum electrodynamics with driven inhomogeneous emitters. Nature 2023; 617:271-276. [PMID: 37100918 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-05884-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2022] [Accepted: 02/24/2023] [Indexed: 04/28/2023]
Abstract
Quantum emitters coupled to optical resonators are quintessential systems for exploring fundamental phenomena in cavity quantum electrodynamics (cQED)1 and are commonly used in quantum devices acting as qubits, memories and transducers2. Many previous experimental cQED studies have focused on regimes in which a small number of identical emitters interact with a weak external drive3-6, such that the system can be described with simple, effective models. However, the dynamics of a disordered, many-body quantum system subject to a strong drive have not been fully explored, despite its importance and potential in quantum applications7-10. Here we study how a large, inhomogeneously broadened ensemble of solid-state emitters coupled with high cooperativity to a nanophotonic resonator behaves under strong excitation. We discover a sharp, collectively induced transparency (CIT) in the cavity reflection spectrum, resulting from quantum interference and collective response induced by the interplay between driven inhomogeneous emitters and cavity photons. Furthermore, coherent excitation within the CIT window leads to highly nonlinear optical emission, spanning from fast superradiance to slow subradiance11. These phenomena in the many-body cQED regime enable new mechanisms for achieving slow light12 and frequency referencing, pave a way towards solid-state superradiant lasers13 and inform the development of ensemble-based quantum interconnects9,10.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mi Lei
- Kavli Nanoscience Institute, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
- Thomas J. Watson, Sr., Laboratories of Applied Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
- Institute for Quantum Information and Matter, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
| | - Rikuto Fukumori
- Kavli Nanoscience Institute, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
- Thomas J. Watson, Sr., Laboratories of Applied Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
- Institute for Quantum Information and Matter, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
| | - Jake Rochman
- Kavli Nanoscience Institute, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
- Thomas J. Watson, Sr., Laboratories of Applied Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
- Institute for Quantum Information and Matter, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
| | - Bihui Zhu
- Homer L. Dodge Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA
| | - Manuel Endres
- Institute for Quantum Information and Matter, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
- Division of Physics, Mathematics and Astronomy, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
| | - Joonhee Choi
- Institute for Quantum Information and Matter, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA.
- Division of Physics, Mathematics and Astronomy, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA.
- Department of Electrical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
| | - Andrei Faraon
- Kavli Nanoscience Institute, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA.
- Thomas J. Watson, Sr., Laboratories of Applied Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA.
- Institute for Quantum Information and Matter, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA.
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Liedl C, Pucher S, Tebbenjohanns F, Schneeweiss P, Rauschenbeutel A. Collective Radiation of a Cascaded Quantum System: From Timed Dicke States to Inverted Ensembles. PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2023; 130:163602. [PMID: 37154641 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.130.163602] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2022] [Revised: 10/17/2022] [Accepted: 03/27/2023] [Indexed: 05/10/2023]
Abstract
The collective absorption and emission of light by an ensemble of atoms is at the heart of many fundamental quantum optical effects and the basis for numerous applications. However, beyond weak excitation, both experiment and theory become increasingly challenging. Here, we explore the regimes from weak excitation to inversion with ensembles of up to 1000 atoms that are trapped and optically interfaced using the evanescent field surrounding an optical nanofiber. We realize full inversion, with about 80% of the atoms being excited, and study their subsequent radiative decay into the guided modes. The data are very well-described by a simple model that assumes a cascaded interaction of the guided light with the atoms. Our results contribute to the fundamental understanding of the collective interaction of light and matter and are relevant for applications ranging from quantum memories to sources of nonclassical light to optical frequency standards.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christian Liedl
- Department of Physics, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 10099 Berlin, Germany
| | - Sebastian Pucher
- Department of Physics, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 10099 Berlin, Germany
| | - Felix Tebbenjohanns
- Department of Physics, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 10099 Berlin, Germany
| | - Philipp Schneeweiss
- Department of Physics, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 10099 Berlin, Germany
| | - Arno Rauschenbeutel
- Department of Physics, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 10099 Berlin, Germany
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Abstract
We report computer studies showing how the duration of memory for storage and retrieval of a classical bit can be increased to 100 times the decay time of an isolated atom, with no use of high-tech cold-atom preparations recently developed in the light-matter field. We suggest that our low-tech procedure can greatly enlarge the number of experimenters able to enter this field. The role of symmetry in this procedure arises in a careful interplay of incoherent and coherent excitations of a large collection of “two-level” atoms, the level separation being matched by the dominant frequency of the electromagnetic fields (short pulses and continuing field) applied to the system.
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Glicenstein A, Ferioli G, Browaeys A, Ferrier-Barbut I. From superradiance to subradiance: exploring the many-body Dicke ladder. OPTICS LETTERS 2022; 47:1541-1544. [PMID: 35290359 DOI: 10.1364/ol.451903] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
We report a time-resolved study of collective emission in dense ensembles of two-level atoms. We compare, on the same sample, the buildup of superradiance and subradiance from the ensemble when driven by a strong laser. This allows us to measure the dynamics of the population of superradiant and subradiant states as a function of time. In particular, we demonstrate the buildup in time of subradiant states through superradiant dynamics. This illustrates the dynamics of the many-body density matrix of superradiant ensembles of two-level atoms when departing from the ideal conditions of Dicke superradiance, in which symmetry forbids the population of subradiant states.
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Pennetta R, Blaha M, Johnson A, Lechner D, Schneeweiss P, Volz J, Rauschenbeutel A. Collective Radiative Dynamics of an Ensemble of Cold Atoms Coupled to an Optical Waveguide. PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2022; 128:073601. [PMID: 35244447 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.128.073601] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2021] [Accepted: 11/29/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
We experimentally and theoretically investigate collective radiative effects in an ensemble of cold atoms coupled to a single-mode optical nanofiber. Our analysis unveils the microscopic dynamics of the system, showing that collective interactions between the atoms and a single guided photon gradually build up along the atomic array in the direction of propagation of light. These results are supported by time-resolved measurements of the light transmitted and reflected by the ensemble after excitation via nanofiber-guided laser pulses, whose rise and fall times are shorter than the atomic lifetime. Superradiant decays more than 1 order of magnitude faster than the single-atom free-space decay rate are observed for emission in the forward-propagating guided mode, while at the same time, no speed-up of the decay rate is measured in the backward direction. In addition, position-resolved measurements of the light that is transmitted past the atoms are performed by inserting the nanofiber-coupled atomic array in a 45-m-long fiber ring resonator, which allow us to experimentally reveal the progressive growth of the collective response of the atomic ensemble. Our results highlight the unique opportunities offered by nanophotonic cold atom systems for the experimental investigation of collective light-matter interaction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Riccardo Pennetta
- Department of Physics, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 12489 Berlin, Germany
| | - Martin Blaha
- Department of Physics, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 12489 Berlin, Germany
| | - Aisling Johnson
- Department of Physics, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 12489 Berlin, Germany
| | - Daniel Lechner
- Department of Physics, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 12489 Berlin, Germany
| | - Philipp Schneeweiss
- Department of Physics, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 12489 Berlin, Germany
| | - Jürgen Volz
- Department of Physics, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 12489 Berlin, Germany
| | - Arno Rauschenbeutel
- Department of Physics, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 12489 Berlin, Germany
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