arXiv:1207.4238 · Physical Review Letters
Rydberg Polaritons in a Cavity: A Superradiant Solid
Xue‐Feng Zhang, Qing Sun, Yu-Chuan Wen, Wu‐Ming Liu, Sebastian Eggert, An-Chun Ji
Abstract
We study an optical cavity coupled to a lattice of Rydberg atoms, which can be represented by a generalized Dicke model. We show that the competition between the atom-atom interaction and atom-light coupling induces a rich phase diagram. A novel superradiant solid (SRS) phase is found, where both the superradiance and crystalline orders coexist. Different from the normal second order superradiance transition, here both the solid-1/2 and SRS to SR phase transitions are first order. These results are confirmed by large scale quantum Monte Carlo simulations.