Atomic Decay Rate Research Articles

Enhancement of opto-electro-mechanical entanglement through three-level atoms

We address the dynamical bipartite entanglement in an opto-electro-mechanical system that involves a three-level atom. The system consists of a degenerate three-level atom, a mechanical resonator, an optical cavity, and a microwave cavity. By utilizing the linearization approximation and nonlinear quantum-Langevin equations, the dynamics of the system are analyzed, and the bipartite entanglement is evaluated using the logarithmic negativity. The research findings indicate that the entanglement between each subsystem increases with the atom injection rate, suggesting that a higher atom injection rate leads to enhanced information transmission between the subsystems. Additionally, it is observed that the correlation between subsystems increases with an increase in the coupling rate. Moreover, the study demonstrates that the correlation between each subsystem decreases as temperature rises. We also show that the degree of tripartite entanglement diminishes with increasing atomic decay rates. The results highlight the positive impact of three-level atoms on the bipartite entanglement in an opto-electro-mechanical system. Consequently, such electro-optomechanical systems can offer a framework for optomechanical information transfer.

Coherent feedback ground state cooling of the mechanical resonator in quadratic optomechanical system assisted by an atomic ensemble

We propose a scheme for cooling a mechanical resonator to its ground state in a quadratic optomechanical system, assisted by an atomic ensemble in the unresolved sideband regime. The system features an auxiliary cavity directly coupled to an optical cavity, with a portion of the optical cavity’s output field being fed back through an asymmetric beam splitter. Utilizing quantum Langevin and master equations, we derive the optical fluctuation spectrum, the cooling rate, and the mean phonon number of the mechanical resonator. Our results demonstrate that the feedback mechanism substantially enhances the cooling rate. Furthermore, under optimal cooling conditions, the mechanical resonator achieves ground state cooling even with weaker optomechanical coupling strengths and higher auxiliary cavity dissipation rates, thereby mitigating the experimental constraints associated with these parameters. Additionally, we provide the feasible ranges for optomechanical coupling strength and atomic decay rates. Our findings suggest promising avenues for quantum manipulation in nonlinear systems and its applications in macroscopic optical devices.

Mirror-mediated ultralong-range atomic dipole–dipole interactions

In three dimensions, dipole–dipole interactions which alter atomic level shifts and spontaneous decay rates only persist over distances comparable to the wavelength of the emitted light. In this paper we show that it is possible to significantly extend the range of these interactions with the help of a partially transparent asymmetric mirror interface. Suppose two two-level atoms are placed on opposite sides of the interface, each at the position of the mirror image of the other. In this case, their emitted light interferes almost exactly as it would when the atoms are right next to each other. Hence their dipole–dipole interaction assumes an additional maximum, even when the actual distance of the atoms is several orders of magnitude larger than the transition wavelength. Although the resulting ultralong-range interactions are in general relatively weak, we expect them to find applications in quantum technology, like non-invasive quantum sensing.

Test for Non-Relativistic QED in decays of positronium atoms

Abstract. Positronium (Ps) is a bound state of electron and positron governed by electromagnetic interactions. Precise measurement of its decay rate is an important observational parameter to test theoretical predictions derived from Non-Relativistic Quantum Electrodynamics (NRQED). In this work, we present a new method for measuring the decay rate of Ps atoms, which has the potential to improve the precision and thus the description of the behavior of particles in bound states and to provide insight into the non-relativistic regime of QED.

Dynamics of one two-level-atom interacting with a multiple cavity modes

We discuss how to implement quantum logic gates by considering a two-level-atom driven by a strong microwave field and successively interacting with m+1 cavity modes. The scheme is insensitive to the initial state of the atom, and the operation time is independent of the number of cavity modes involved in the system operations. This scheme is used to realize two quantum logic gates (m-target-qubit controlled-global-phase gate and Multi-qubit phase shift gate) in a time much shorter than the photonic lifetime. We also studied the influence of decoherence on the fidelity. In general, our system is reasonably less sensitive to the photonic and atomic decay rates and therefore it can be experimentally realized.

Radiative corrections to the level width in the presence of magnetic field

The effect of a constant magnetic field in combination with a field induced by an external thermal environment on atomic decay rates is studied. For this purpose, radiative corrections including magnetic interaction are considered for hydrogen and hydrogen-like ions with a small nuclear charge Z. Corrections to the decays of the metastable state 2s and the excited state 2p were calculated at various magnetic field strengths suitable for the conditions of the laboratory experiments. It is found that the combination of the magnetic field and thermal environment can lead to a broadening close to the level of experimental error, which makes it necessary to take them into account in the near future.

Entanglement of mechanical modes in a doubly resonant optomechanical cavity of a correlated emission laser

We explore the extent of the induced entanglement of the mechanical modes that can be attributed to the transfer of coherence from two-mode cavity radiation in a doubly resonant optomechanical cavity. It is expected that this scheme can support a generation of mechanical oscillations with a robust degree of entanglement combined with significant controllability. The entanglement is found to be sensitive to the specific choices of the frequencies of the bichromatic drive laser. It also turns out that the degree of entanglement would be enhanced with increasing rates of injection of the atoms but with decreasing initial lengths of a doubly resonant cavity and atomic decay rates. In addition, the entanglement is found to behave qualitatively in the same way for the measures of entanglement we have applied. Since the scheme we considered can possibly be implemented with current technology and allows the quantum features of cavity radiation to be accessible for application, we anticipate that it can be utilized in the realization of continuous-variable quantum information processing.

Relativistic decay rates of one-electron atoms

Relativistic decay rates of one-electron atoms

Realization of the quantum Toffoli gate based on a six-level atomic system

In this paper, we propose a scheme for implementing a Toffoli gate in a system with an atom that has six levels in a lambda configuration, interacting with a high-Q cavity containing four modes. Here, we reduce a six-level system into an effective three-level behavior by applying the adiabatic elimination method. Next, we calculate the probabilities of the states of the interest as well as the fidelity. We also study the effects of photonic and atomic decay rates on the evolution of the system which is reasonably less sensitive to decoherence.

The Quantum Optics of Asymmetric Mirrors With Coherent Light Absorption

The local observables of the quantised electromagnetic field near a mirror-coated interface depend strongly on the properties of the media on both sides. In macroscopic quantum electrodynamics, this fact is taken into account with the help of optical Green’s functions which correlate the position of an observer with all other spatial positions and photon frequencies. Here we present an alternative, more intuitive approach and obtain the local field observables with the help of a quantum mirror image detector method. In order to correctly normalise electric field operators, we demand that spontaneous atomic decay rates simplify to their respective free space values far away from the reflecting surface. Our approach is interesting, since mirror-coated interfaces constitute a common basic building block for quantum photonic devices.

Electron capture nuclear decay rate under compression in a confined environment

We have calculated the effect of compressing the radioactive atoms in the crystal lattice environments on their electron capture nuclear decay rates. The electronic structure calculations of solids using the density functional techniques have been used to calculate the change of electron density at the nuclei and the corresponding change of electron capture nuclear decay rate of the radioactive atoms confined to the interstitial spaces of different crystal lattices. The effects of finite nuclear size and vacuum polarization were considered in the calculations. It has been found that the calculations significantly underpredict the experimentally measured increase of electron capture nuclear decay rate under compression. The increase of decay rate due to compression-induced quantum anti-Zeno effect is generally believed to be very small because of very short duration of initial nonexponential decay time for the nuclear decays. However, this effect could be observable for the electron capture nuclear decay of $$^{\mathrm {163}}$$ Ho, because of its very low decay energy. Moreover, certain models of quantum measurement indicate much longer initial nonexponential decay time and the corresponding implication on the increase of decay rate under compression is still not known. It is important to understand the large discrepancy between the measured and calculated increase of electron capture nuclear decay rate under compression and the associated role of quantum anti-Zeno effect because of their possible implications in various astrophysical and geophysical calculations.

Ultranarrow Superradiant Lasing by Dark Atom-Photon Dressed States.

We show that incoherent pumping of an optical lattice clock system with ultracold strontium-88 atoms produces laser light with a ≃10 Hz linewidth when the atoms are exposed to a magnetic field. This linewidth is orders of magnitude smaller than both the cavity linewidth and the incoherent atomic decay and excitation rates. The narrow lasing is due to an interplay of multiatom superradiant effects and the coupling of bright and dark atom-light dressed states by the magnetic field.

Enhanced optomechanically induced transparency via atomic ensemble in optomechanical system.

We investigate the optomechanically induced transparency phenomena assisted through cavity optomechanical system. The system consists of an optical cavity system filled with the two-level atomic ensemble and driven by a weak probe laser as well as a strong coupling fields. Under different driving conditions, the system can exhibit the phenomena of optomechanical induced transparency dip. Specifically, the width of the transparency window increases with an increase in the coupling constant, while decreasing with an increase in atomic decay rate. Furthermore, the induced transparency phenomena are strongly affected by the number of atoms, coupling, and the decay rate. It is found that the larger the number of atoms, the wider the window of induced transparency, and therefore enhance the depth of transparency window. These results may have spectacular applications for slowing and on-chip storage of light pulses by the use of a micro-fabricated optomechanical array.

Tripartite Entanglement Dynamics in the System Consisting of Three Damping Jaynes-Cummings Models

In this paper we consider the situation that three identical two-level atoms resonantly interact with three distant single-mode optical cavities via a one-photon hopping separately, and there exist the phenomena of atom-decay and cavity-decay. Under Jaynes-Cummings model the time evolution of the system is given. The tripartite negativity is used to quantify the degree of tripartite entanglement. The tripartite entanglement dynamics among atoms and among cavities are studied. The influences of the atom-decay and the cavity-decay on tripartite entanglement are discussed. The results obtained using the numerical method show that the tripartite entanglement among atoms and that among cavities all display damping oscillation behavior. On the other hand, as the atomic decay rate increases, their decays are accelerated, and so do they with the increase of cavity decay rate.

Strong Coupling of a Single Ion to an Optical Cavity.

Strong coupling between an atom and an electromagnetic resonator is an important condition in cavity quantum electrodynamics. While strong coupling in various physical systems has been achieved so far, it remained elusive for single atomic ions. Here, we achieve a coupling strength of 2π×(12.3±0.1) MHz between a single ^{40}Ca^{+} ion and an optical cavity, exceeding both atomic and cavity decay rates which are 2π×11.5 and 2π×(4.1±0.1) MHz, respectively. We use cavity assisted Raman spectroscopy to precisely characterize the ion-cavity coupling strength and observe a spectrum featuring the normal mode splitting in the cavity transmission due to the ion-cavity interaction. Our work paves the way towards new applications of cavity quantum electrodynamics utilizing single trapped ions in the strong coupling regime for quantum optics and quantum technologies.

Spin squeezing and many-body dipolar dynamics in optical lattice clocks

The recent experimental realization of a three-dimensional (3D) optical lattice clock not only reduces the influence of collisional interactions on the clock's accuracy but also provides a promising platform for studying dipolar many-body quantum physics. Here, by solving the governing master equation, we investigate the role of both elastic and dissipative long-range interactions in the clock's dynamics and study its dependence on lattice spacing, dimensionality, and dipolar orientation. For small lattice spacing, i.e., $k_0a\ll 1$, where $a$ is the lattice constant and $k_0$ is the transition wavenumber, a sizable spin squeezing appears in the transient state which is favored in a head-to-tail dipolar configuration in 1D systems and a side-by-side configuration in 2D systems, respectively. For large lattice spacing, i.e., $k_0a\gg 1$, the single atomic decay rate can be effectively suppressed due to the destructive dissipative emission of neighboring atoms in both 1D and 2D. Our results will not only aid in the design of the future generation of ultraprecise atomic clocks but also illuminates the rich many-body physics exhibited by radiating dipolar system.

Alignment-dependent decay rate of an atomic dipole near an optical nanofiber

We study the modification of the atomic spontaneous emission rate, i.e. Purcell effect, of $^{87}$Rb in the vicinity of an optical nanofiber ($\sim$500 nm diameter). We observe enhancement and inhibition of the atomic decay rate depending on the alignment of the induced atomic dipole relative to the nanofiber. Finite-difference time-domain simulations are in quantitative agreement with the measurements when considering the atoms as simple oscillating linear dipoles. This is surprising since the multi-level nature of the atoms should produce a different radiation pattern, predicting smaller modification of the lifetime than the measured ones. This work is a step towards characterizing and controlling atomic properties near optical waveguides, fundamental tools for the development of quantum photonics.

Intracavity cold atomic ensemble with high optical depth.

We describe the apparatus of an optical cavity loaded with cold 85Rb atoms of high optical depth (OD) in the weak coupling regime. The relevant cavity-atom parameters are the single-photon Rabi frequency g0 = 2π × 0.25 MHz, the cavity power decay rate κ = 2π × 9.0 MHz, and the atomic excited state decay rate Γ = 2π × 5.75 MHz. In this bad-cavity configuration where the atomic natural linewidth (Γ/2π) is less than the cavity linewidth (κ/2π), the cavity enhancement factor for the longitudinal OD is about 188. We obtain a cavity enhanced OD up to 7600, corresponding to an atomic ensemble with a bare single-pass OD of 40, coupled to the cavity mode. Our intracavity cold atomic ensemble with high OD may have many applications in studying collective atom-light interaction inside an optical cavity.

Strong Purcell Effect on a Neutral Atom Trapped in an Open Fiber Cavity.

We observe a sixfold Purcell broadening of the D_{2} line of an optically trapped ^{87}Rb atom strongly coupled to a fiber cavity. Under external illumination by a near-resonant laser, up to 90% of the atom's fluorescence is emitted into the resonant cavity mode. The sub-Poissonian statistics of the cavity output and the Purcell enhancement of the atomic decay rate are confirmed by the observation of a strongly narrowed antibunching dip in the photon autocorrelation function. The photon leakage through the higher-transmission mirror of the single-sided resonator is the dominant contribution to the field decay (κ≈2π×50 MHz), thus offering a high-bandwidth, fiber-coupled channel for photonic interfaces such as quantum memories and single-photon sources.

Transition processes of a static multilevel atom in the cosmic string spacetime with a conducting plane boundary

We investigate the transition processes of a static multilevel atom in interaction with a fluctuating vacuum quantum electromagnetic field in the cosmic string spacetime in the presence of an infinite, perfectly conducting plane. Using the formalism proposed by DDC, we find that the presence of the boundary modifies both vacuum fluctuations and radiation reaction contributions to the atomic spontaneous emission rate. Our results indicate that the total decay rate and the boundary-induced contribution both depend upon the atom-string distance, the atom-plate separation, the extent of the polar angle deficit induced by the string, and the atomic polarization direction. By adjusting these parameters, the atomic decay rate can be either enhanced or weakened significantly by the boundary. Moreover, the presence of the boundary can distinguish certain polarization directions that bring about the same decay rate in the case of a free cosmic string spacetime. Theoretically, our work suggests a more flexible means to adjust and control the radiative processes of atoms.