Photon-photon interactions in Rydberg-atom arrays
We investigate the interaction of weak light fields with two-dimensional lattices of atoms with high lying atomic Rydberg states. This system features different interactions that act on disparate length scales, from zero-range defect scattering of atomic excitations and finite-range dipole exchange...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Verein zur Förderung des Open Access Publizierens in den Quantenwissenschaften
2022-03-01
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| Series: | Quantum |
| Online Access: | https://quantum-journal.org/papers/q-2022-03-30-674/pdf/ |
| _version_ | 1811260706056568832 |
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| author | Lida Zhang Valentin Walther Klaus Mølmer Thomas Pohl |
| author_facet | Lida Zhang Valentin Walther Klaus Mølmer Thomas Pohl |
| author_sort | Lida Zhang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | We investigate the interaction of weak light fields with two-dimensional lattices of atoms with high lying atomic Rydberg states. This system features different interactions that act on disparate length scales, from zero-range defect scattering of atomic excitations and finite-range dipole exchange processes to long-range Rydberg-state interactions, which span the entire array and can block multiple Rydberg excitations. Analyzing their interplay, we identify conditions that yield a nonlinear quantum mirror which coherently splits incident fields into correlated photon-pairs in a single transverse mode, while transmitting single photons unaffected. In particular, we find strong anti-bunching of the transmitted light with equal-time pair correlations that decrease exponentially with an increasing range of the Rydberg blockade. Such strong photon-photon interactions in the absence of photon losses open up promising avenues for the generation and manipulation of quantum light, and the exploration of many-body phenomena with interacting photons. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T18:51:34Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-fd119ca8b1f94ff8b7c8355ac2d82688 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2521-327X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T18:51:34Z |
| publishDate | 2022-03-01 |
| publisher | Verein zur Förderung des Open Access Publizierens in den Quantenwissenschaften |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Quantum |
| spelling | doaj.art-fd119ca8b1f94ff8b7c8355ac2d826882022-12-22T03:20:28ZengVerein zur Förderung des Open Access Publizierens in den QuantenwissenschaftenQuantum2521-327X2022-03-01667410.22331/q-2022-03-30-67410.22331/q-2022-03-30-674Photon-photon interactions in Rydberg-atom arraysLida ZhangValentin WaltherKlaus MølmerThomas PohlWe investigate the interaction of weak light fields with two-dimensional lattices of atoms with high lying atomic Rydberg states. This system features different interactions that act on disparate length scales, from zero-range defect scattering of atomic excitations and finite-range dipole exchange processes to long-range Rydberg-state interactions, which span the entire array and can block multiple Rydberg excitations. Analyzing their interplay, we identify conditions that yield a nonlinear quantum mirror which coherently splits incident fields into correlated photon-pairs in a single transverse mode, while transmitting single photons unaffected. In particular, we find strong anti-bunching of the transmitted light with equal-time pair correlations that decrease exponentially with an increasing range of the Rydberg blockade. Such strong photon-photon interactions in the absence of photon losses open up promising avenues for the generation and manipulation of quantum light, and the exploration of many-body phenomena with interacting photons.https://quantum-journal.org/papers/q-2022-03-30-674/pdf/ |
| spellingShingle | Lida Zhang Valentin Walther Klaus Mølmer Thomas Pohl Photon-photon interactions in Rydberg-atom arrays Quantum |
| title | Photon-photon interactions in Rydberg-atom arrays |
| title_full | Photon-photon interactions in Rydberg-atom arrays |
| title_fullStr | Photon-photon interactions in Rydberg-atom arrays |
| title_full_unstemmed | Photon-photon interactions in Rydberg-atom arrays |
| title_short | Photon-photon interactions in Rydberg-atom arrays |
| title_sort | photon photon interactions in rydberg atom arrays |
| url | https://quantum-journal.org/papers/q-2022-03-30-674/pdf/ |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT lidazhang photonphotoninteractionsinrydbergatomarrays AT valentinwalther photonphotoninteractionsinrydbergatomarrays AT klausmølmer photonphotoninteractionsinrydbergatomarrays AT thomaspohl photonphotoninteractionsinrydbergatomarrays |