Collective Spin-Light and Light-Mediated Spin-Spin Interactions in an Optical Cavity

Abstract

The interaction between an atomic ensemble and a light mode in a high-finesse optical cavity can easily reach the strong-coupling regime, where quantum effects dominate. In this regime, the interaction can be used to generate both atom-light and atom-atom entanglement. We analyze the dominant effects on the collective atomic state and the light field, and derive a unified approach that can account for atomic entanglement induced both by measurements on the light field, and by ignoring the state of the light field altogether. We present analytical expressions for the entanglement induced by the interaction, and determine the conditions that maximize the entanglement-induced gain over the standard quantum limit in quantum sensors and atomic clocks.6 MoreReceived 28 June 2021Accepted 25 March 2022Corrected 29 July 2022DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PRXQuantum.3.020308Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI.Published by the American Physical SocietyPhysics Subject Headings (PhySH)Research AreasCavity quantum electrodynamicsEntanglement productionQuantum metrologyAtomic, Molecular & Optical