Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

arXiv:0711.3369 · Physical Review A

van der Waals interaction and spontaneous decay of an excited atom in a superlens-type geometry

Agnes Sambale, Dirk‐Gunnar Welsch, Ho Trung Dung, Stefan Yoshi Buhmann

Published Nov 26, 2008• 30 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Within the framework of macroscopic quantum electrodynamics, the resonant van der Waals potential experienced by an excited two-level atom near a planar magnetoelectric two-layer system consisting of a slab of left-handed material and a perfect mirror is studied. It is shown that the disregard of material absorption leads to unphysical results, with divergent values for the potential away from the surface. Under appropriate conditions, the setup is found to feature a barrier near the surface which can be employed to levitate particles or used as a trapping or cooling mechanism. Finally, the problem of spontaneous decay [K\"astel and Fleischhauer, Phys. Rev. A 68, 011804(R) (2005)] is reconsidered. Disregard of absorption is shown to drastically falsify the dependence on the atomic position of the decay rate.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.78.053828

Related papers

Enhancement of long-distance Casimir-Polder interaction between an excited atom and a cavity made of metamaterials

Wei Fang, Gao‐xiang Li, Jingping Xu +1 more

Within the framework of macroscopic quantum electrodynamics, we investigate both the radiation force and the potential of Casimir-Polder type acting on an excited cold two-level atom in a cavity made of left-handed materials and topological insulators. As the time-reversal symmetry is broken on the surface of the topological insulators, the spontaneous emission of the atom placed near the focus point(s) exhibits anisotropic properties. While the potential wells are normally shallow for topological trivial dielectric, they may be amplified in the presence of topological magnetoelectric effect. We find that when there exists only one focus point in the cavity, it is possible to boost the forces or the potential wells by up to one order of magnitude. Meanwhile, the lifetime of the atom could be prolonged owing to the focus effect of the left-handed materials, where the emitted photons can trace back to the atom and reabsorbed by itself. Our results indicate the possibility in forming long-lived potential wells, which may have potential applications in trapping and guiding cold atoms far away from the surface.

Optics Express•Dec 12, 2019•5 citations

Spontaneous decay of a two-level atom near the left-handed slab

Jingping Xu, Yaping Yang, Qiang Lin +1 more

Spontaneous decay of a two-level atom near the left-handed material (LHM) slab is investigated. The contributions of the guided modes and the surface-plasmon polariton (SPP) modes supported by the LHM slab to the spontaneous decay are studied at length. We find that the atomic decay near a LHM slab is much different from that near a dielectric slab or metal slab. The first---the dielectric slab with arbitrary thickness---supports at least two guided modes (one for TE polarized and one for TM polarized), but LHM slab may support none of the guided mode for certain thickness. The second---the atom near the LHM slab---may decay through both TE- and TM-polarized SPP, but the atom near the metal slab can decay only through TM-polarized SPP. The third, when the LHM slab supports only TE-polarized SPP modes, the atom near such slab cannot couple to the SPP mode when its dipole moment is perpendicular to the interface. Even if LHM contains weak loss, above analysis is also valid, and the decay rate directly related to material's losses (defined by the decay through dissipation here) can be distinguished from the total decay rate. Most interesting, we find that the decay through SPP will be larger than the decay through dissipation when the atom is placed at an appropriate position. Our results will give constructive reference to the design and fabrication of the quantum device made of LHM.

Physical Review A•Apr 14, 2009•33 citations

Cavity-QED interactions of two correlated atoms

Saeideh Esfandiarpour, Hassan Safari, Robert G. Bennett +1 more

Abstract We consider the resonant van der Waals (vdW) interaction between two correlated identical two-level atoms (at least one of which being excited) within the framework of macroscopic cavity quantum electrodynamics in linear, dispersing and absorbing media. The interaction of both atoms with the body-assisted electromagnetic field of the cavity is assumed to be strong. Our time-independent evaluation is based on an extended Jaynes–Cummings model. For a system prepared in a superposition of its dressed states, we derive the general form of the vdW forces, using a Lorentzian single-mode approximation. We demonstrate the applicability of this approach by considering the case of a planar cavity and showing the position dependence of Rabi oscillations. We also show that in the limiting case of weak coupling, our results reproduce the perturbative ones for the case where the field is initially in vacuum state while the atomic state is in a superposition of two correlated states sharing one excitation.

arXiv:1708.05586•Journal of Physics B Atomic Molecular and Optical Physics•Feb 9, 2018•10 citations

The van der Waals energy of atomic systems near absorbing and dispersing bodies

Stefan Yoshi Buhmann, Ho Trung Dung, D.‐G. Welsch

Within the frame of macroscopic quantum electrodynamics in causal media, a rigorous derivation of the van der Waals energy of an atomic system in the presence of an arbitrary arrangement of dispersing and absorbing dielectric bodies is given. As an application, the van der Waals potential of an atom in the presence of a dispersing and absorbing sphere is derived. Closed expressions for the long-distance (retardation) and short-distance (non-retardation) limits are given, and the effect of material absorption is discussed.

arXiv:quant-ph/0303152•Journal of Optics B Quantum and Semiclassical Optics•Mar 1, 2004•59 citations

Suppression of spontaneous emission and superradiance over macroscopic distances in media with negative refraction

Jürgen Kästel, Michael Fleischhauer

The possibility of negative optical path length in left-handed media (LHM) is shown to lead to complete suppression of spontaneous emission of an atom in front of a mirror with a layer of LHM. For the same reason two atoms put at the foci of a perfect lens formed by a parallel LHM slab [J. B. Pendry, Phys. Rev. Lett. 85, 3966 (2000)] exhibit perfect subradiance and superradiance. It is shown that these effects occur over distances that can be orders of magnitude larger than the transition wavelength and are only limited by the propagation length within the free-space decay time of the atoms. Single- and two-atom decay rates are calculated from the Greens function of the electric field in the presence of a LHM and limitations as well as potential applications are discussed.

Physical Review A•Jan 31, 2005•75 citations

van der Waals interaction potential between Rydberg atoms near surfaces

Johannes Block, Stefan Scheel

van der Waals interactions, as a result of the exchange of photons between particles, can be altered by modifying the environment through which these photons propagate. As a consequence, phenomena such as the Rydberg blockade mechanism between highly excited atoms or excitons can be controlled by adding reflecting surfaces. We provide the quantum electrodynamic framework for the van der Waals interaction in the nonretarded limit that is relevant for long-wavelength transitions, such as those between Rydberg systems, and show its intimate connection with common static dipole-dipole interactions, thereby providing a generalization to include macroscopic bodies.

arXiv:1710.08965•Physical Review A•Dec 29, 2017•10 citations
Within the framework of macroscopic quantum electrodynamics, the resonant van der Waals potential experienced by an excited two-level atom near a planar magnetoelectric two-layer system consisting of a slab of left-handed material and a perfect mirror is studied. It is shown that the disregard of material absorption leads to unphysical results, with divergent values for the potential away from the surface. Under appropriate conditions, the setup is found to feature a barrier near the surface which can be employed to levitate particles or used as a trapping or cooling mechanism. Finally, the problem of spontaneous decay [K"astel and Fleischhauer, Phys. Rev. A 68, 011804(R) (2005)] is reconsidered. Disregard of absorption is shown to drastically falsify the dependence on the atomic position of the decay rate.
Within the framework of macroscopic quantum electrodynamics, we investigate both the radiation force and the potential of Casimir-Polder type acting on an excited cold two-level atom in a cavity made of left-handed materials and topological insulators. As the time-reversal symmetry is broken on the surface of the topological insulators, the spontaneous emission of the atom placed near the focus point(s) exhibits anisotropic properties. While the potential wells are normally shallow for topological trivial dielectric, they may be amplified in the presence of topological magnetoelectric effect. We find that when there exists only one focus point in the cavity, it is possible to boost the forces or the potential wells by up to one order of magnitude. Meanwhile, the lifetime of the atom could be prolonged owing to the focus effect of the left-handed materials, where the emitted photons can trace back to the atom and reabsorbed by itself. Our results indicate the possibility in forming long-lived potential wells, which may have potential applications in trapping and guiding cold atoms far away from the surface.
Spontaneous decay of a two-level atom near the left-handed material (LHM) slab is investigated. The contributions of the guided modes and the surface-plasmon polariton (SPP) modes supported by the LHM slab to the spontaneous decay are studied at length. We find that the atomic decay near a LHM slab is much different from that near a dielectric slab or metal slab. The first---the dielectric slab with arbitrary thickness---supports at least two guided modes (one for TE polarized and one for TM polarized), but LHM slab may support none of the guided mode for certain thickness. The second---the atom near the LHM slab---may decay through both TE- and TM-polarized SPP, but the atom near the metal slab can decay only through TM-polarized SPP. The third, when the LHM slab supports only TE-polarized SPP modes, the atom near such slab cannot couple to the SPP mode when its dipole moment is perpendicular to the interface. Even if LHM contains weak loss, above analysis is also valid, and the decay rate directly related to material's losses (defined by the decay through dissipation here) can be distinguished from the total decay rate. Most interesting, we find that the decay through SPP will be larger than the decay through dissipation when the atom is placed at an appropriate position. Our results will give constructive reference to the design and fabrication of the quantum device made of LHM.
Abstract We consider the resonant van der Waals (vdW) interaction between two correlated identical two-level atoms (at least one of which being excited) within the framework of macroscopic cavity quantum electrodynamics in linear, dispersing and absorbing media. The interaction of both atoms with the body-assisted electromagnetic field of the cavity is assumed to be strong. Our time-independent evaluation is based on an extended Jaynes–Cummings model. For a system prepared in a superposition of its dressed states, we derive the general form of the vdW forces, using a Lorentzian single-mode approximation. We demonstrate the applicability of this approach by considering the case of a planar cavity and showing the position dependence of Rabi oscillations. We also show that in the limiting case of weak coupling, our results reproduce the perturbative ones for the case where the field is initially in vacuum state while the atomic state is in a superposition of two correlated states sharing one excitation.
Within the frame of macroscopic quantum electrodynamics in causal media, a rigorous derivation of the van der Waals energy of an atomic system in the presence of an arbitrary arrangement of dispersing and absorbing dielectric bodies is given. As an application, the van der Waals potential of an atom in the presence of a dispersing and absorbing sphere is derived. Closed expressions for the long-distance (retardation) and short-distance (non-retardation) limits are given, and the effect of material absorption is discussed.
The possibility of negative optical path length in left-handed media (LHM) is shown to lead to complete suppression of spontaneous emission of an atom in front of a mirror with a layer of LHM. For the same reason two atoms put at the foci of a perfect lens formed by a parallel LHM slab [J. B. Pendry, Phys. Rev. Lett. 85, 3966 (2000)] exhibit perfect subradiance and superradiance. It is shown that these effects occur over distances that can be orders of magnitude larger than the transition wavelength and are only limited by the propagation length within the free-space decay time of the atoms. Single- and two-atom decay rates are calculated from the Greens function of the electric field in the presence of a LHM and limitations as well as potential applications are discussed.
van der Waals interactions, as a result of the exchange of photons between particles, can be altered by modifying the environment through which these photons propagate. As a consequence, phenomena such as the Rydberg blockade mechanism between highly excited atoms or excitons can be controlled by adding reflecting surfaces. We provide the quantum electrodynamic framework for the van der Waals interaction in the nonretarded limit that is relevant for long-wavelength transitions, such as those between Rydberg systems, and show its intimate connection with common static dipole-dipole interactions, thereby providing a generalization to include macroscopic bodies.