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arXiv:1211.6692 · Physica Scripta

Mathematical methods in quantum optics: the Dicke model

Eduardo Nahmad-Achar, Octavio Castaños, Ramón López–Peña, Jorge G. Hirsch

Published Feb 11, 2013• 30 citations
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Abstract

We show how various mathematical formalisms, specifically the catastrophe formalism and group theory, aid in the study of relevant systems in quantum optics. We describe the phase transition of the Dicke model for a finite number N of atoms, via three different methods, which led to universal parametric curves for the expectation value of the first quadrature of the electromagnetic field and the expectation value of the number operator, as functions of the atomic relative population. These are valid for all values of the matter–field coupling parameter, and valid for both the ground and first-excited states. Using these mathematical tools, the critical value of the atom–field coupling parameter is found as a function of the number of atoms, from which its critical exponent is derived.

DOI
10.1088/0031-8949/87/03/038114

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We show how various mathematical formalisms, specifically the catastrophe formalism and group theory, aid in the study of relevant systems in quantum optics. We describe the phase transition of the Dicke model for a finite number N of atoms, via three different methods, which led to universal parametric curves for the expectation value of the first quadrature of the electromagnetic field and the expectation value of the number operator, as functions of the atomic relative population. These are valid for all values of the matter–field coupling parameter, and valid for both the ground and first-excited states. Using these mathematical tools, the critical value of the atom–field coupling parameter is found as a function of the number of atoms, from which its critical exponent is derived.
The critical value of the atom-field coupling strength in the Dicke model, for a finite number of atoms interacting with photons in a cavity, is determined by means of semiclassical (via coherent states and symmetry-adapted states) and exact solutions. These procedures allow in turn for the determination of the phase transitions in the model, and coincide in the thermodynamic limit. For the three cases mentioned above, a universal parametric curve is obtained for the expectation values of the first quadrature of the electromagnetic field, as a function of the atomic relative population, valid for all values of the atom-field coupling parameter, and valid for the ground-and first-excited states.
The critical value of the atom-field coupling strength for a finite number of atoms is determined by means of both semiclassical and exact solutions. In the semiclassical approach we use a variational procedure with coherent and symmetry-adapted states, while for the exact quantum solution the concept of fidelity is employed. These procedures allow for the determination of the phase transitions in the model and coincide in the thermodynamic limit. For the three cases mentioned above, universal parametric curves are obtained for the expectation values of both the first quadrature of the electromagnetic field and the atomic relative population as implicit functions of the atom-field coupling parameter, valid for the ground and first-excited states.
We investigate quantum phase transitions, quantum criticality, and Berry phase for the ground state of an ensemble of non-interacting two-level atoms embedded in a non-linear optical medium, coupled to a single-mode quantized electromagnetic field. The optical medium is pumped externally through a classical electric field, so that there is a degenerate parametric amplification effect, which strongly modifies the field dynamics without affecting the atomic sector. Through a semiclassical description the different phases of this extended Dicke model are described. The quantum phase transition is characterized with the expectation values of some observables of the system as well as the Berry phase and its first derivative, where such quantities serve as order parameters. It is remarkable that the model allows the control of the quantum criticality through a suitable choice of the parameters of the non-linear optical medium, which could make possible the use of a low intensity laser to access the superradiant region experimentally.
We show how the use of variational states to approximate the ground state of a system can be employed to study a multimode Dicke model. One of the main contributions of this work is the introduction of a not very commonly used quantity, the cooperation number, and the study of its influence on the behavior of the system, paying particular attention to the quantum phase transitions and the accuracy of the used approximations. We also show how these phase transitions affect the dependence of the expectation values of some of the observables relevant to the system and the entropy of entanglement with respect to the energy difference between atomic states and the coupling strength between matter and radiation, thus characterizing the transitions in different ways.
The Dicke model describing an ensemble of two-state atoms interacting with a single quantized mode of the electromagnetic field (with omission of the ${\stackrel{\ifmmode \hat{}\else \^{}\fi{}}{A}}^{2}$ term) exhibits a zero-temperature phase transition at a critical value of the dipole coupling strength. We propose a scheme based on multilevel atoms and cavity-mediated Raman transitions to realize an effective Dicke model operating in the phase transition regime. Optical light from the cavity carries signatures of the critical behavior, which is analyzed for the thermodynamic limit where the number of atoms is very large.
The Dicke model is a fundamental model of quantum optics, which describes the interaction between light and matter. In the Dicke model, the light component is described as a single quantum mode, while the matter is described as a set of two-level systems. When the coupling between the light and matter crosses a critical value, the Dicke model shows a mean-field phase transition to a superradiant phase. This transition belongs to the Ising universality class and was realized experimentally in cavity quantum electrodynamics experiments. Although the superradiant transition bears some analogy with the lasing instability, these two transitions belong to different universality classes.