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arXiv:1403.4800 · Physical Review A

Dicke superradiance as a nondestructive probe for quantum quenches in optical lattices

Nicolai ten Brinke, Ralf Schützhold

Published Jul 13, 2015• 4 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

We study Dicke superradiance as collective and coherent absorption and (time-delayed) emission of photons from an ensemble of ultracold atoms in an optical lattice. Since this process depends on the coherence properties of the atoms (e.g., superfluidity), it can be used as a probe for their quantum state. In analogy to pump-probe spectroscopy in solid-state physics, this detection method facilitates the investigation of nonequilibrium phenomena and is less invasive than time-of-flight experiments or direct (projective) measurements of the atom number (or parity) per lattice site, which both destroy properties of the quantum state such as phase coherence.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.92.013617

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We study Dicke superradiance as collective and coherent absorption and (time-delayed) emission of photons from an ensemble of ultracold atoms in an optical lattice. Since this process depends on the coherence properties of the atoms (e.g., superfluidity), it can be used as a probe for their quantum state. In analogy to pump-probe spectroscopy in solid-state physics, this detection method facilitates the investigation of nonequilibrium phenomena and is less invasive than time-of-flight experiments or direct (projective) measurements of the atom number (or parity) per lattice site, which both destroy properties of the quantum state such as phase coherence.
This thesis describes experiments which investigate ultracold atom \nensembles in an optical lattice. Such quantum gases are powerful models for solid state physics. Several novel methods are demonstrated that probe the special properties of strongly correlated states in lattice potentials. Of these, quantum noise spectroscopy reveals spatial correlations in such states, which are hidden when using the usual methods of probing atomic gases. Another spectroscopic technique makes it possible to demonstrate the existence of a shell structure of regions with constant densities. Such coexisting phases separated by sharp boundaries had been theoretically predicted for the Mott insulating state.\nThe tunneling processes in the optical lattice in the strongly correlated regime are probed by preparing the ensemble in an optical superlattice potential. This allows the time-resolved observation of the tunneling dynamics, and makes it possible to directly identify correlated tunneling processes.\n
We consider collective light scattering from ultracold atoms trapped in a deep optical lattice. Different atomic quantum states were shown to exhibit qualitatively different light scattering. This suggests a novel nondestructive method to probe atomic quantum statistics and characterize quantum phase transitions, e.g., between Mott insulator and superfluid states. The method is based on measurements of light fields only, in contrast to the standard methods based on matter-field interference, which destroys the system.
The collective spontaneous emission of many atoms is significantly different from that of a single atom, depending on the geometry and the phase correlation of atomic ensembles. However, experimental observation of arbitrary superradiant and subradiant states of atoms remains challenging due to the difficulties in both preparation and detection of those states. Here we report the time-resolved observation of superradiance from a timed Dicke state in a momentum-space superradiance lattice of Bose-Einstein condensates, which enables an in situ measurement of the coherent lattice dynamics involving both superradiant and subradiant states. The long-lasting oscillation in the superradiant emission is contributed by population transport from the subradiant states in the superradiance lattice. This work paves the way to prepare and observe subradiant states, which has promising applications in quantum information processing.
An ensemble of atoms coupled to a high finesse optical cavity is an ideal test bed for the study of the cooperative behaviour of atom-photon systems. Dicke showed that an ensemble of excited atoms coupled to a light field interacts with the light in a collective and coherent fashion leading to the emission of highly directional spontaneous emission whose intensity scales with the square of the number of atoms, a phenomenon known as superradiance. \nThis thesis describes the build of an experiment to study cooperative atom-photon interactions in a ring cavity. Particular focus is given to the cavities used in the experiment. Firstly a transfer cavity used for transferring stability to off-resonant lasers in the experiment, this was developed with the capability of exploiting Gouy phase degeneracies to produce tightly spaced frequency discriminants to be used as lock points. Secondly the ring cavity for the experiment which is atypical in its design allowing for bidirectional probing of the cavity mode and dynamic manipulation of the intra-cavity optical lattice. An intra-cavity MOT was produced and collective strong coupling was observed in the cavity with an Neff=6400 atoms coupled to the cavity mode.
Recent advances in optical studies of condensed matter systems have led to the emergence of a variety of phenomena that have conventionally been studied in the realm of quantum optics. These studies have not only deepened our understanding of light–matter interactions but have also introduced aspects of many-body correlations inherent in optical processes in condensed matter systems. This paper is concerned with the phenomenon of superradiance (SR), a profound quantum optical process originally predicted by Dicke in 1954. The basic concept of SR applies to a general N body system, where constituent oscillating dipoles couple together through interaction with a common light field and accelerate the radiative decay of the whole system. Hence, the term SR ubiquitously appears in order to describe radiative coupling of an arbitrary number of oscillators in many situations in modern science of both classical and quantum description. In the most fascinating manifestation of SR, known as superfluorescence (SF), an incoherently prepared system of N inverted atoms spontaneously develops macroscopic coherence from vacuum fluctuations and produces a delayed pulse of coherent light whose peak intensity ∝N2. Such SF pulses have been observed in atomic and molecular gases, and their intriguing quantum nature has been unambiguously demonstrated. In this review, we focus on the rapidly developing field of research on SR phenomena in solids, where not only photon-mediated coupling (as in atoms) but also strong Coulomb interactions and ultrafast scattering processes exist. We describe SR and SF in molecular centers in solids, molecular aggregates and crystals, quantum dots, and quantum wells. In particular, we will summarize a series of studies we have recently performed on semiconductor quantum wells in the presence of a strong magnetic field. In one type of experiment, electron-hole pairs were incoherently prepared, but a macroscopic polarization spontaneously emerged and cooperatively decayed, emitting an intense SF burst. In another type of experiment, we observed the SR decay of coherent cyclotron resonance of ultrahigh-mobility 2D electron gases, leading to a decay rate that is proportional to the electron density. These results show that cooperative effects in solid-state systems are not merely small corrections that require exotic conditions to be observed; rather, they can dominate the nonequilibrium dynamics and light emission processes of the entire system of interacting electrons.
We measure the superradiant emission in a one-dimensional (1D) superradiance lattice (SL) in ultracold atoms. Resonantly excited to a superradiant state, the atoms are further coupled to other collectively excited states, which form a 1D SL. The directional emission of one of the superradiant excited states in the 1D SL is measured. The emission spectra depend on the band structure, which can be controlled by the frequency and intensity of the coupling laser fields. This work provides a platform for investigating the collective Lamb shift of resonantly excited superradiant states in Bose-Einstein condensates and paves the way for realizing higher dimensional superradiance lattices.