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arXiv:1501.07841 · Journal of Physics B Atomic Molecular and Optical Physics

Non-equilibrium dynamics of the Dicke model for mesoscopic aggregates: signatures of superradiance

Sebastian Fuchs, Joachim Ankerhold, M. P. Blencowe, Björn Kubala

Published Jan 8, 2016• 9 citations
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Abstract

Abstract The dynamics of the Dicke model, which describes the interaction of N two-level atoms with a resonant field mode, is studied in the presence of dissipation and in strong non-equilibrium for a moderate number of atoms. Starting from a highly excited state, it is investigated to what extent signatures of superradient phenomena known from the thermodynamic limit , namely, superradiant light emission and atom-field correlations characteristic for the superradiant phase, appear on transient time scales. Attention is also paid to subtleties of modeling dissipation in the weak coupling limit and to the dynamics in phase space. The latter allows phase space correlators to be defined as indicators for collective behavior on transient time scales. These findings may be of relevance for the realization of Dicke physics with superconducting circuits.

DOI
10.1088/0953-4075/49/3/035501

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Abstract The dynamics of the Dicke model, which describes the interaction of N two-level atoms with a resonant field mode, is studied in the presence of dissipation and in strong non-equilibrium for a moderate number of atoms. Starting from a highly excited state, it is investigated to what extent signatures of superradient phenomena known from the thermodynamic limit , namely, superradiant light emission and atom-field correlations characteristic for the superradiant phase, appear on transient time scales. Attention is also paid to subtleties of modeling dissipation in the weak coupling limit and to the dynamics in phase space. The latter allows phase space correlators to be defined as indicators for collective behavior on transient time scales. These findings may be of relevance for the realization of Dicke physics with superconducting circuits.
We observe a non-equilibrium phase transition in a driven dissipative quantum system consisting of an pencil-shape cloud of up to N≈2000N\approx 2000N≈2000 laser-cooled atoms in free space, optically excited along its main axis. We find that our data are well reproduced by the Driven Dicke model, which assumes a sub-wavelength sample volume, by simply using an effective atom number. By measuring the excited state population of the atoms and the light emitted in the superradiant mode, we characterize the dynamics of the system and its steady-state properties. In particular, we observe the characteristic N2N^2N2 scaling of the photon emission rate in the superradiant phase, thus demonstrating steady-state superradiance in free space. Finally, we observe a modification of the statistics of the superradiant light as we cross the phase transition.
Abstract The Dicke model describes the coupling between a quantized cavity field and a large ensemble of two‐level atoms. When the number of atoms tends to infinity, this model can undergo a transition to a superradiant phase, belonging to the mean‐field Ising universality class. The superradiant transition was first predicted for atoms in thermal equilibrium and was recently realized with a quantum simulator made of atoms in an optical cavity, subject to both dissipation and driving. This progress report offers an introduction to some theoretical concepts relevant to the Dicke model, reviewing the critical properties of the superradiant phase transition and the distinction between equilibrium and nonequilibrium conditions. In addition, it explains the fundamental difference between the superradiant phase transition and the more common lasing transition. This report mostly focuses on the steady states of atoms in single‐mode optical cavities, but it also mentions some aspects of real‐time dynamics, as well as other quantum simulators, including superconducting qubits, trapped ions, and using spin–orbit coupling for cold atoms. These realizations differ in regard to whether they describe equilibrium or nonequilibrium systems.
The Dicke model describes the coherent interaction of a laser-driven ensemble of two-level atoms with a quantized light field. It is realized within cavity QED experiments, which in addition to the coherent Dicke dynamics feature dissipation due to, e.g., atomic spontaneous emission and cavity photon loss. Spontaneous emission supports the uncorrelated decay of individual atomic excitations as well as the enhanced collective decay of an excitation that is shared by NNN atoms and whose strength is determined by the cavity geometry. We derive a many-body master equation for the dissipative Dicke model including both spontaneous emission channels and analyze its dynamics on the basis of Heisenberg-Langevin and stochastic Bloch equations. We find that the collective loss channel leads to a region of bistability between the empty and the superradiant state. Transitions between these states are driven by nonthermal Markovian noise. The interplay between dissipative and coherent elements leads to a genuine nonequilibrium dynamics in the bistable regime, which is expressed via a nonconservative force and a multiplicative noise kernel appearing in the stochastic Bloch equations. We present a semiclassical approach, based on stochastic nonlinear optical Bloch equations, which for the infinite-range Dicke model become exact in the large-NNN-limit. The absence of an effective free-energy functional, however, necessitates the inclusion of fluctuation corrections with O(1/N)O(1/N)O(1/N) for finite $N<\ensuremath{\infty}$ to locate the nonthermal first-order phase transition between the superradiant and the empty cavity.
The interplay between many-body interactions and controlled dissipation provides a rich setting for nonequilibrium quantum phases. We explore the superradiant phase transitions in a Rydberg-interacting open Dicke model with cavity loss and local dissipation. We find that the nonlinear feedback from atomic interactions stabilizes the atomic collective excited state and induces resonant collective motion, which can be further converted into robust superradiant oscillations with the inclusion of local dissipation. Beyond the mean-field approximation, we prove this system can support the finite-size local dissipative temporal order, i.e., continuous time crystal, from evidences of the decreasing damping of a finite-frequency Liouvillian mode and the linear-size scaling of quantum fluctuations. The correlation between the atomic colletive dynamics and the cavity photon number makes our findings easy to detect from output optical signal. By bridging interacting atomic matter and driven-dissipative cavity QED, our Rydberg-interacting Dicke model provides a unique spin-1/2 platform for exploring dynamical phase transitions and macroscopic temporal order in open quantum matter.
Dicke model provides describing the superradiance effect when the spontaneous emission of a great number of excited two-level atoms is running in a correlated way due to their interaction via field. The process is identical to a giant dipole emission. Since the ordering takes place, it is interesting to study the possibility for using the terms of phase transition theory in such physical situation. Equilibrium properties of Dicke type models were studied for a long time because of their relevance for explaining some phenomena in matter-field interaction. The existence of an ordered phase in the emitter subsystem together with macroscopic photon mode filling is established, wherein the correct solution requires the Bogolyubov concept of quasiaverages to exclude the phase uncertainty of quasispin component structures <R+> and <R-> (for the concentrated model). In this paper, the behavior of similar order parameters for the non-equilibrium process description is analyzed and using the order parameter <R+R-> associated with the squared electric dipole moment of the emitter complex is substantiated. Such fact justifies <R3> application in the literature devoted to the superradiance theory. The situation with quasiaverages is compared with the problem of uniformity breaking in the numerical modeling.
Interactions among emitters provide a powerful means of controlling collective light--matter phenomena, yet their role in superradiant criticality has not been thoroughly investigated. Here we construct a minimal model that can yield analytical insights --- a Dicke model with two interacting atoms coupled to a single mode cavity --- to study such interaction effects. We show that interaction changes the phase boundary, and may even completely suppress the atom-photon coupling threshold for superradiance and change the universality class of the phase transition. We further study the dissipative phase transition and quantum dynamics in the presence of dissipation channels such as photon loss and spin relaxation. Our results demonstrate important roles played by the atom-atom interaction and how it can be engineered to control atom-photon coupling.