Reconfigurable quantum metamaterials

Nano-engineering and nano-manufacturing in 2D materials: marvels of nanotechnology

Two-dimensional materials have attracted significant interest and investigation since the marvellous discovery of graphene. Due to their unique physical, mechanical and optical properties, van der Waals (vdW) materials possess extraordinary potential for application in future optoelectronics devices. Nano-engineering and nano-manufacturing in the atomically thin regime has further opened multifarious avenues to explore novel physical properties. Among them, moiré heterostructures, strain engineering and substrate manipulation have created numerous exotic and topological phenomena such as unconventional superconductivity, orbital magnetism, flexible nanoelectronics and highly efficient photovoltaics. This review comprehensively summarizes the three most influential techniques of nano-engineering in 2D materials. The latest development in the marvels of moiré structures in vdW materials is discussed; in addition, topological structures in layered materials and substrate engineering on the nanoscale are thoroughly scrutinized to highlight their significance in micro- and nano-devices. Finally, we conclude with remarks on challenges and possible future directions in the rapidly expanding field of nanotechnology and nanomaterial.

Effective Three-Body Interactions in Jaynes-Cummings-Hubbard Systems

A generalisation of the Jaynes-Cummings-Hubbard model for coupled-cavity arrays is introduced, where the embedded two-level system in each cavity is replaced by a Ξ-type three-level system. We demonstrate that the resulting effective polariton-polariton interactions at each site are both two-body and three-body. By tuning the ratio of the two transition dipole matrix elements, we show that the strength and sign of the two-body interaction can be controlled whilst maintaining a three-body repulsion. We then proceed to demonstrate how different two-body and three-body interactions alter the mean field superfluid-Mott insulator phase diagram, with the possible emergence of a pair superfluid phase in the two-body attractive regime.

Coherence-Driven Topological Transition in Quantum Metamaterials

We introduce and theoretically demonstrate a quantum metamaterial made of dense ultracold neutral atoms loaded into an inherently defect-free artificial crystal of light, immune to well-known critical challenges inevitable in conventional solid-state platforms. We demonstrate an all-optical control, on ultrafast time scales, over the photonic topological transition of the isofrequency contour from an open to closed topology at the same frequency. This atomic lattice quantum metamaterial enables a dynamic manipulation of the decay rate branching ratio of a probe quantum emitter by more than an order of magnitude. Our proposal may lead to practically lossless, tunable, and topologically reconfigurable quantum metamaterials, for single or few-photon-level applications as varied as quantum sensing, quantum information processing, and quantum simulations using metamaterials.

Modelling copper-phthalocyanine/cobalt-phthalocyanine chains: towards magnetic quantum metamaterials

The magnetic properties of a theoretically designed molecular chain structure CuCoPc2, in which copper-phthalocyanine (CuPc) and cobalt-phthalocyanine (CoPc) alternate, have been investigated across a range of chain structures. The computed exchange interaction for the α-phase CuCoPc2 is ∼ 5 K (ferromagnetic), in strong contrast to the anti-ferromagnetic interaction recently observed in CuPc and CoPc. The computed exchange interactions are strongly dependent on the stacking angle but weakly on the sliding angle, and peak at 20 K (ferromagnetic). These ferromagnetic interactions are expected to arise from direct exchange with the strong suppression of super-exchange interaction. These first-principles calculations show that π-conjugated molecules, such as phthalocyanine, could be used as building blocks for the design of magnetic materials. This therefore extends the concept of quantum metamaterials further into magnetism. The resulting new magnetic materials could find applications in the studies such as organic spintronics.

Transformation optics for cavity array metamaterials

Cavity array metamaterials (CAMs), composed of optical microcavities in a lattice coupled via tight-binding interactions, represent a novel architecture for engineering metamaterials. Since the size of the CAMs' constituent elements are commensurate with the operating wavelength of the device, it cannot directly utilise classical transformation optics in the same way as traditional metamaterials. By directly transforming the internal geometry of the system, and locally tuning the permittivity between cavities, we provide an alternative framework suitable for tight-binding implementations of metamaterials. We develop a CAM-based cloak as the case study.

Fractional quantum Hall physics in Jaynes-Cummings-Hubbard lattices

Jaynes-Cummings-Hubbard arrays provide unique opportunities for quantum emulation as they exhibit convenient state preparation and measurement, as well as in situ tuning of parameters. We show how to realize strongly correlated states of light in Jaynes-Cummings-Hubbard arrays under the introduction of an effective magnetic field. The effective field is realized by dynamic tuning of the cavity resonances. We demonstrate the existence of Laughlin-like fractional quantum Hall states by computing topological invariants, phase transitions between topologically distinct states, and Laughlin wave function overlap.

The Hong-Ou-Mandel effect in the context of few-photon scattering

The Hong-Ou-Mandel effect is studied in the context of two-photon transport in a one-dimensional waveguide with a single scatterer. We numerically investigate the scattering problem within a time-dependent, wave-function-based framework. Depending on the realization of the scatterer and its properties, we calculate the joint probability of finding both photons on either side of the waveguide after scattering. We specifically point out how Hong-Ou-Mandel interferometry techniques could be exploited to identify effective photon-photon interactions which are mediated by the scatterer. The Hong-Ou-Mandel dip is discussed in detail for the case of a single two-level atom embedded in the waveguide, and dissipation and dephasing are taken into account by means of a quantum jump approach.