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arXiv:1407.4954 · Physical Review Letters

Steering Matter Wave Superradiance with an Ultranarrow-Band Optical Cavity

Hans Keßler, Jens Klinder, Matthias Wolke, Andreas Hemmerich

Published Aug 12, 2014• 87 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

A superfluid atomic gas is prepared inside an optical resonator with an ultranarrow bandwidth on the order of the single photon recoil energy. When a monochromatic off-resonant laser beam irradiates the atoms, above a critical intensity the cavity emits superradiant light pulses with a duration on the order of its photon storage time. The atoms are collectively scattered into coherent superpositions of discrete momentum states, which can be precisely controlled by adjusting the cavity resonance frequency. With appropriate pulse sequences the entire atomic sample can be collectively accelerated or decelerated by multiples of two recoil momenta. The instability boundary for the onset of matter wave superradiance is recorded and its main features are explained by a mean field model.

DOI
10.1103/physrevlett.113.070404

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A superfluid atomic gas is prepared inside an optical resonator with an ultranarrow bandwidth on the order of the single photon recoil energy. When a monochromatic off-resonant laser beam irradiates the atoms, above a critical intensity the cavity emits superradiant light pulses with a duration on the order of its photon storage time. The atoms are collectively scattered into coherent superpositions of discrete momentum states, which can be precisely controlled by adjusting the cavity resonance frequency. With appropriate pulse sequences the entire atomic sample can be collectively accelerated or decelerated by multiples of two recoil momenta. The instability boundary for the onset of matter wave superradiance is recorded and its main features are explained by a mean field model.
We demonstrate that superradiance and collective atomic recoil lasing from cold atoms can be enhanced using a two-frequency pump with frequency difference twice the two-photon recoil frequency ${\ensuremath{\omega}}_{r}$. In the good-cavity regime the atoms behave as a three-recoil-level system, collectively scattering a single-frequency radiation mode. In the bad-cavity regime, the superradiant cascade through the different recoil momentum states is strongly accelerated. The emitted radiation shows a discrete spectrum whose harmonics are separated by $2{\ensuremath{\omega}}_{r}$ and generated by transitions between adjacent momentum levels.
A semi-classical theory of coherent light scattering from an elongated sample of cold atoms exposed to an off-resonant laser beam is presented. The model, which is a direct extension of that of the collective atomic recoil laser (CARL), describes the emission of two superradiant pulses along the sample's major axis simultaneous with the formation of a bidimensional atomic grating inside the sample. It provides a simple physical picture of the recent observation of collective light scattering from a Bose-Einstein condensate [S. Inouye et al., Science N.285, p. 571 (1999)]. In addition, the model provides an analytical description of the temporal evolution of the scattered light intensity which shows good quantitative agreement with the experimental results of Inouye et al.
The non-equilibrium dynamics of the superradiant scattering of light from a BEC is experimentally investigated by monitoring the time evolution of the population in the condensate. In the experiment, a cigar-shaped Bose-Einstein condensate of /sup 87/Rb atoms is produced and is exposed to a single off-resonant laser pulse directed along the condensate symmetry axis. The superradiant back-scattering of light creates a matter wave pulse moving in the same direction of the laser beam at twice the photon recoil velocity with respect to the original condensate. The efficiency of the process is limited by decoherence between the two atomic spatially overlapped wavepackets. The temporal evolution of the condensate observed in the experiment as well as the results of a simple semiclassical model in which the condensate is described by a density operator for the motional states. The population of the two matter wavepackets as a function of the light pulse duration is reported, together with the experimental points with the analytical formula resulting from the theory of collective atomic recoil laser (CARL).
A theory of coherent light scattering from an elongated Bose-Einstein condensate exposed to an off-resonant laser beam is presented. The model describes the emission of two superradiant pulses along the sample's major axis simultaneous with the formation of a bidimensional atomic grating inside the sample, as was observed in a recent MIT experiment [Inouye, S. et al., 1999, Science, 285, 571]. We predictions of the semiclassical model, in which the atomic motion is treated classically, are compared with these of the quantum model, obtained including the quantum mechanical description of the atomic motion. In the quantum limit the superradiant regime becomes a sequential process, in which during each collective scattering atoms emit a it hyperbolic secant pulse and populate an adjacent momentum state.
We experimentally investigate light scattering from a Bose-Einstein condensate which is positioned inside an optical ring cavity. With a cavity linewidth at the recoil limit, the resulting superradiant scattering behavior is strongly influenced by the cavity detuning. The experimental observations are interpreted with a quantum mean-field description and with a rate-equation model. We discuss applications in the context of quantum phase transitions, Dicke subradiance, and nonconventional superfluidity.
Collective interaction of light with an atomic gas can give rise to superradiant instabilities. We experimentally study the sudden buildup of a reverse light field in a laser-driven high-finesse ring cavity filled with ultracold thermal or Bose-Einstein condensed atoms. While superradiant Rayleigh scattering from atomic clouds is normally observed only at very low temperatures (i.e., well below 1 microK), the presence of the ring cavity enhances cooperativity and allows for superradiance with thermal clouds as hot as several 10 microK. A characterization of the superradiance at various temperatures and cooperativity parameters allows us to link it to the collective atomic recoil laser.