Atom-photon Interactions Research Articles

Quantum phase transition of a Bose-Einstein condensate in an optical cavity driven by a laser field

When an atomic ensemble is coupled with a cavity field governed by the well-known Dicke model , an important quantum phase transition (QPT) from the normal phase to the superradiant phase occurs, which was predicted more than 30 years ago. In this paper, both the atom-photon nonlinear interaction and the driving field are added to the Dicke's Hamiltonian. With the method of Holstein-Primafoff transformation, the ground state energy is given by the theoretical calculation, and the rich phase figures are presented. Meanwhile, these properties are observed experimentally. We mainly dicuss the effects of the atom-photon nonlinear interaction and the driving field on QPT.

Nonclassical dynamics with time- and intensity-dependent coupling

Nonclassical light and collapse-revival dynamics are consequences of dynamical quantum interference in transient photon-atom interaction. We study the time evolution of atom and photons in a high quality cavity for time-dependent atom-field coupling, with different initial field states and initial atomic states. The inversion for initial superposed atomic state seems to be independent of initial classical fields but can be stimulated by the Schrodinger cat field. Interesting effects of the transient coupling are found through analysis of the collapse-revival in population inversion and the features in the Wigner function. Oscillatory coupling coefficient can prolong the occurrence of collapse, in analogy to the Zeno effect. The intensity atom-field coupling duration is an important parameter for controlling atomic inversion and producing frozen nonclassical light in the cavity after the atom-field coupling ceases.

Entanglement in atomic systems interacting with single-photon pulses in free space

New technologies providing tightly focusing lenses and mirrors with large numerical apertures and electro-optic modulation of single photons are now available for the investigation of photon-atom interactions without a cavity. From the theoretical side, new models must be developed which take into account the intrinsic open system aspect of the problem as well as details about atomic relative positions and temporal (spectral) features of the pulses. In this paper, we investigate the generation of nonclassical correlations between two atoms in free space interacting with a quantized pulse containing just one single photon. For this purpose, we develop a general theoretical approach which allows us to find the equations of motion for single- and two-body atomic operators from which we obtained the system density operator. We show that one single photon is capable of promoting substantial entanglement between two initially ground-state atoms, and we analyze the dependence of these correlations on atomic relative positions (vacuum effects) and spectral features of the single-photon pulse.

Anomalous Hall effects of light and chiral edge modes on the Kagomé lattice

We theoretically investigate a photonic Kagom\'e lattice which can be realized in microwave cavity arrays using current technology. The Kagom\'e lattice exhibits an exotic band structure with three bands, one of which can be made completely flat. The presence of artificial gauge fields makes it possible to emulate topological phases and induce chiral edge modes which can coexist inside the energy gap with the flat band that is topologically trivial. By tuning the artificial fluxes or in the presence of disorder, the flat band can also acquire a bandwidth in energy allowing the coexistence between chiral edge modes and bulk extended states; in this case the chiral modes become fragile towards scattering into the bulk. The photonic system then exhibits equivalents of both a quantum Hall effect without Landau levels and an anomalous Hall effect characterized by a nonquantized Chern number. We discuss experimental observables such as local density of states and edge currents. We show how synthetic uniform magnetic fields can be engineered, which allows an experimental probe of Landau levels in the photonic Kagom\'e lattice. We then draw on semiclassical Boltzmann equations for transport to devise a method to measure Berry's phases around loops in the Brillouin zone. The method is based solely on wave-packet interference and can be used to determine band Chern numbers or the photonic equivalent of the anomalous Hall response. We demonstrate the robustness of these measurements towards on-site and gauge-field disorder. We also show the stability of the anomalous quantum Hall phase for nonlinear cavities and for (artificial) atom-photon interactions.

Controllable band loops of ultracold atoms in a cavity

We theoretically investigate the atomic energy band of ultracold atoms inside a laser-driven optical cavity with Kerr medium. This cavity-atom hybrid system has two kinds of interactions: photon-atom interaction and photon-photon one. We find the loops of the atomic energy band induced by photon-atom interaction disappear when the Kerr interaction between photons exceeds a critical value. The reason of the controllably atomic energy band loops by Kerr interaction is discussed.

Quasi-superactivation of classical capacity of zero-capacity quantum channels

One of the most surprising recent results in quantum Shannon theory is the superactivation of the quantum capacity of a quantum channel. This phenomenon has its roots in the extreme violation of additivity of the channel capacity and enables reliable transmission of quantum information over zero-capacity quantum channels. In this work we demonstrate a similar effect for the classical capacity of a quantum channel which previously was thought to be impossible. We show that a nonzero classical capacity can be achieved for all zero-capacity quantum channels and it only requires the assistance of an elementary photon–atom interaction process – stimulated emission.

Atom-photon interactions in a system of coupled cavities

We give a theoretical treatment of single atom detection in an compound, optical micro cavity. The cavity consists of a single mode semiconductor waveguide with a gap to allow atoms to interact with the optical field in the cavity. Optical losses, both in the semiconductor and induced by the gap are considered and we give an estimate of the cavity finesse. We also compute the cooperativity parameter and show how it depends on the gap width and cavity length. Maximization of the cooperativity does not always correspond to maximization of the coupling.

Realization of a Two-Dimensional Magneto-optical Trap with a High Optical Depth

We build up a novel setup of a two-dimensional (2D) 85Rb magneto-optical trap (MOT) with a high optical depth (OD) of 38. Such a MOT trap of 85Rb has several advantages as compared to the normal three-dimensional ellipsoidal MOT. Firstly, it will greatly enhance atom-photon interaction due to the large OD. Then, the dephasing caused by the magnetic gradient will be decreased in the long axis of the 2D MOT, which we want to avoid from in the experiments. The metastable ground level dephasing rate was γ21 = 0.008γ31, which is much less than that in a normal MOT. The total number of atoms in this MOT was measured to be 9.1 × 108.

The Spin-Spin Interaction and the New Concept of Photon

After researching carefully the well known M. Planck’s law of the black-body radiation, the quantum theory of field and the Einstein’s postulates about interaction of the photon with the atoms, there are a lot of unclear questions about photon and its interaction with atom. From all the above questions, there are three main following questions: Why does the energy of a light mode include zero-point energy? Where does the first photon come from in universe? and What is the first fact as a reason of absorption, emission in the photon-atom interaction? To find out the acceptable answers, here we propose postulates about the zero-photon and then about the new concepts of photon. Using them, we have tried to describe the basic characters of the photon and explain the photon-atom interaction in other way: the spin-spin interaction. Our results showed out the different picture of mechanism of the photon-atom interaction, the existence of the zero-photon energy, the absorption as well as the emission rule and its probabilities.

Time-evolution of electronic states in a Rashba anisotropic two-dimensional quantum dot

In this article we present the time evolution of the electronic spin and subbands states, of an electron in an anisotropic two dimensional Rashba quantum dot, to which a magnetic field of arbitrary strength is applied. We also explicitly include the confining (gate) effects as a two dimensional anisotropic harmonic oscillator. From the governing Hamiltonian we compute the time evolution of the initial state, leading to spin and subbands averages as functions of time. Our results indicate that the spin, on the average, precesses about the magnetic field, on an ellipse with intrinsic wobbling. The subbands populations, similar to the case of atom-photon interaction, follow the pattern of collapse–revivals.

Coherent spectroscopy of a Λ atomic system and its prospective application to tunable frequency offset locking

We investigate the coherent pump–probe spectroscopy of a three-level Λ system, , in the hyperfine manifold of D2 transition (852 nm) of cesium with particular reference to the sub-Doppler linewidth resonance arising from Aulter–Townes (AT) splitting and the possibility of using it for realizing a scheme for tunable atomic frequency offset locking (AFOL). We discuss here the theoretical framework for a Λ system interacting with a coherent pump and probe and use it to describe the process of modulation transfer in the AT and electromagnetically induced transparency regimes. We further employ an experimental scheme consisting of a strong pump and a pair of weak probes to resolve the sub-Doppler linewidth (∼8 MHz) AT resonance and study its dependence on pump intensity and detuning. In order to explore the possibility of using such a sub-Doppler linewidth resonance for AFOL, we use its first derivative signal as a frequency discriminator to stabilize the probe laser. The frequency stability of the probe is characterized by means of error signal analysis. This study reveals that while the frequency stability of the AT locked laser is limited by the pump laser, the tuning range of the offset frequency lock can cover the entire Doppler profile and its immediate neighbourhood, thereby providing a simple and cost effective alternative to the external modulator. The study described in this paper contributes to the discussion on the subtle link between dressed state spectroscopy and AFOL, which is relevant for developing a master–slave-type laser system in the domain of coherent photon–atom interaction.

Spontaneous emission dynamics in an omnidirectional waveguide made of photoniccrystals

The spontaneous emission dynamics of atoms embedded in an omnidirectional waveguide(ODWG), a novel optical waveguide, is studied on the basis of the complete reflectionof one-dimensional photonic crystals. With the dispersion curve of the singlewaveguide mode within the photonic band gap and various extents of backgrounddissipation, we characterize the photon–atom interaction in the ODWG. Thephoton emitter of the system is a two-level atom embedded in the low-indexmedium of the multilayer-film ODWG or the atom–ODWG system. Fractionalcalculus, an innovative mathematical method in optical systems, is applied to solvethe equation of motion for this atom–ODWG system. Two kinds of states withdifferent group velocities exhibit totally distinctive dynamical behavior. The highfrequency waveguide mode with a fast group velocity shows fast exponential decayin propagation while the band-edge mode with a slow group velocity displaysnon-Markovian dynamics with non-exponential oscillating time evolution. We thereforesuggest different functions of this atom–ODWG system for these two kinds ofstates. The richness of the physical content of the system is also revealed throughinvestigating the dynamical behavior of the band-edge mode. These results aid infurther application and fundamental understanding of the atom–ODWG system.

Jaynes-Cummings Hamiltonian Describing an Atomic Four-level Double Λ Configuration Diagonalized by Virtue of Supersymmetric Transformation

By introducing the four-level state ket-bra operators as atomic variables, we show that the Hamiltonian of a four-level system with two lower levels and two top levels, which are respectively almost degenerate, interacting with four light fields through double Λ configuration process, can be reformed as a standard Jaynes-Cummings Hamiltonian. Then the supersymmetric transformation method can be employed to diagonalize the Hamiltonian. This approach may be generalized to tackle other atom-photon interaction models since the supersymmetric transformation method is concise.

Light-shift-induced quantum phase transitions of a Bose-Einstein condensate in an optical cavity

In this paper we reveal the rich ground-state properties induced by the strong nonlinear atom-photon interaction which has been found in the recent experiment about a Bose-Einstein condensate coupling with a high-finesse cavity [Nature (London) 464, 1301 (2010)]. Two detuning-dependent phase diagrams are revealed by investigating the experimentally measurable atomic population. In particular, two quantum phase transitions from the superradiant phase or the normal phase to a dynamically unstable phase are predicted in the blue detuning. Moreover, the three-phase coexistence points are found. It is also demonstrated that these predicted quantum phase transitions are the intrinsic transitions governed only by the second-order derivative of the ground-state energy. Finally, we also point out that the region involving coexistence of the superradiant phase and the normal phase previously predicted cannot happen in the ground state.

Tunable one-dimensional microwave emissions from cyclic-transition three-level artificial atoms

By strongly driving a cyclic-transition three-level artificial atom, demonstrated by such as a flux-based superconducting circuit, we show that coherent microwave signals can be excited along a coupled one-dimensional transmission line. Typically, the intensity of the generated microwave is tunable via properly adjusting the Rabi frequencies of the applied strong-driving fields or introducing a probe field with the same frequency. In practice, the system proposed here could work as an on-chip quantum device with controllable atom-photon interaction to implement a total-reflecting mirror or switch for the propagating probe field.

Environment induced entanglement in cavity-QED

The effects of dissipative dynamics on the magnitude of entanglement generated In atom-photon interactions inside cavities is studied. We present some concrete examples of environment Induced entanglement in alom-photon interactions. We consider various dissipative atom-cavity systems and show that their collective dynamics can be used to maximize entanglement for intermediate values of the cavity leakage parameter κ. We first consider the interaction of a single two-level atom with one of two coupled microwave cavities and show analytically that the atom-cavity entanglement increases with cavity leakage. We next consider a system of two atoms passing successively through a cavity and derive the expression for the maximum value of in terms of the Rabi angle gt, for which the two-atom entanglement can be Increased. Finally, numerical investigation of micromaser dynamics also reveals the increase of two-atom entanglement with stronger cavity-environment coupling for experimentally attainable values of the micromaser parameters.

Spectroscopy of Rb atoms in hollow-core fibers

Recent demonstrations of light-matter interactions with atoms and molecules confined to hollow waveguides offer great promise for ultralow-light-level applications. The use of waveguides allows for tight optical confinement over interaction lengths much greater than what could be achieved in bulk geometries. However, the combination of strong atom-photon interactions and nonuniformity of guided light modes gives rise to spectroscopic features that must be understood in order to take full advantage of the properties of such systems. We use light-induced atomic desorption to generate an optically dense Rb vapor at room temperature inside a hollow-core photonic band-gap fiber. Saturable-absorption spectroscopy and passive slow-light experiments reveal large ac Stark shifts, power broadening, and transit-time broadening, that are present in this system even at nanowatt powers.

Atomic frequency offset locking in a Λ type three-level Doppler broadened Cs system

We here present a comparative study of frequency stabilities of pump and probe lasers coupled at a frequency offset generated by coherent photon-atom interaction. Pump-probe spectroscopy of the Λ configuration in D2 transition of cesium is carried out to obtain sub-natural (∼2 MHz) electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) and sub-Doppler (∼10 MHz) Autler-Townes (AT) resonance. The pump laser is locked on the saturated absorption spectrum (SAS, ∼13 MHz) and the probe laser is successively stabilized on EIT and AT signals. Frequency stabilities of pump and probe lasers are calculated in terms of Allan variance σ(2,τ) by using the frequency noise power spectrum. It is found that the frequency stability of the probe stabilized on EIT is superior (σ∼2×10−13) to that of SAS locked pump laser (σ∼10−12), whereas the performance of the AT stabilized laser is inferior (σ∼6×10−12). This contrasting behavior is discussed in terms of the theme of conventional master-slave offset locking scheme and the mechanisms underlying the EIT and sub-Doppler AT resonances in a Doppler broadened atomic medium.

Light scattering by ultracold atoms in an optical lattice

We investigate theoretically light scattering of photons by ultracold atoms in an optical lattice in the linear regime. A full quantum theory for the atom-photon interactions is developed as a function of the atomic state in the lattice along the Mott-insulator -- superfluid phase transition, and the photonic scattering cross section is evaluated as a function of the energy and of the direction of emission. The predictions of this theory are compared with the theoretical results of a recent work on Bragg scattering in time-of-flight measurements [A.M. Rey, {\it et al.}, Phys. Rev. A {\bf 72}, 023407 (2005)]. We show that, when performing Bragg spectroscopy with light scattering, the photon recoil gives rise to an additional atomic site to site hopping, which can interfere with ordinary tunneling of matter waves and can significantly affect the photonic scattering cross section.

A narrow window of Rabi frequency for competition between electromagnetically induced transparency and Raman absorption

This investigation clarifies the transition phenomenon between the electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) and Raman absorption in a ladder-type system of Doppler-broadened cesium vapor. A competition window of this transition was found to be as narrow as 2 MHz defined by the probe Rabi frequency. For a weak probe, the spectrum of EIT associated with quantum interference suggests that the effect of the Doppler velocity on the spectrum is negligible. When the Rabi frequency of the probe becomes comparable with the effective decay rate, an electromagnetically induced absorption (EIA) dip emerges at the center of the power broadened EIT peak. While the Rabi frequency of the probe exceeds the effective decay rate, decoherence that is generated by the intensified probe field occurs and Raman absorption dominates the interaction process, yielding a pure absorption spectrum; the Doppler velocity plays an important role in the interaction. A theory that is based on density matrix simulation, with or without the Doppler effect, can qualitatively fit the experimental data. In this work, the coherence of atom-photon interactions is created or destroyed using the probe Rabi frequency as a decoherence source.