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arXiv:1911.10300 · Laser & Photonics Review

Non‐Reciprocal Cavity Polariton with Atoms Strongly Coupled to Optical Cavity

Pengfei Yang, Ming Li, Xing Han, Hai Yan He, Gang Li, Chang‐Ling Zou, Pengfei Zhang, Yuhua Qian, Tiancai Zhang

Published May 5, 2023• 57 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Abstract Breaking the time‐reversal symmetry of light is of great importance for fundamental physics and has attracted increasing interest in the study of non‐reciprocal photonic devices. Here, a chiral cavity quantum electrodynamics system with multiple atoms strongly coupled to a Fabry–Pérot cavity is experimentally demonstrated. By polarizing the internal quantum state of the atoms, the time‐reversal symmetry of the atom‐cavity interaction is broken. The strongly coupled atom‐cavity system can be described by non‐reciprocal quasiparticles, that is, the cavity polariton. When it works in the linear regime, the inherent nonreciprocity makes the system work as a single‐photon‐level optical isolator. Benefiting from the collective enhancement of multiple atoms, an isolation ratio exceeding 30 dB on the single‐quanta level (≈ 0.1 photon on average) is achieved. The validity of the non‐reciprocal device under zero magnetic field and the reconfigurability of the isolation direction are also experimentally demonstrated. Moreover, when the cavity polariton works in the nonlinear regime, the quantum interference between polaritons with weak anharmonicity induces non‐reciprocal nonclassical statistics of cavity transmission from coherent probe light.

DOI
10.1002/lpor.202200574

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Abstract Breaking the time‐reversal symmetry of light is of great importance for fundamental physics and has attracted increasing interest in the study of non‐reciprocal photonic devices. Here, a chiral cavity quantum electrodynamics system with multiple atoms strongly coupled to a Fabry–Pérot cavity is experimentally demonstrated. By polarizing the internal quantum state of the atoms, the time‐reversal symmetry of the atom‐cavity interaction is broken. The strongly coupled atom‐cavity system can be described by non‐reciprocal quasiparticles, that is, the cavity polariton. When it works in the linear regime, the inherent nonreciprocity makes the system work as a single‐photon‐level optical isolator. Benefiting from the collective enhancement of multiple atoms, an isolation ratio exceeding 30 dB on the single‐quanta level (≈ 0.1 photon on average) is achieved. The validity of the non‐reciprocal device under zero magnetic field and the reconfigurability of the isolation direction are also experimentally demonstrated. Moreover, when the cavity polariton works in the nonlinear regime, the quantum interference between polaritons with weak anharmonicity induces non‐reciprocal nonclassical statistics of cavity transmission from coherent probe light.
Optical non-reciprocity for weak light field is particularly important for chip-based photonic and quantum information process. By adopting the strong nonlinearity associated with a few atoms in a strongly coupled cavity QED system and an asymmetric cavity configuration, we experimentally demonstrate the nonreciprocal transmission between two counterpropagating light fields with extremely low power. The system can be further manipulated to realize a non-reciprocal cavity polariton. Such that an optical isolation exceeds 30dB on single-quanta level and non-reciprocal non-classical statistics with coherent probe lights can be obtained, manifesting the quantum nature of the non-reciprocal polaritons.
Optical nonreciprocity is important in photonic information processing to route the optical signal or prevent the reverse flow of noise. By adopting the strong nonlinearity associated with a few atoms in a strongly coupled cavity QED system and an asymmetric cavity configuration, we experimentally demonstrate the nonreciprocal transmission between two counterpropagating light fields with extremely low power. The transmission of 18% is achieved for the forward light field, and the maximum blocking ratio for the reverse light is 30 dB. Though the transmission of the forward light can be maximized by optimizing the impedance matching of the cavity, it is ultimately limited by the inherent loss of the scheme. This nonreciprocity can even occur on a few-photon level due to the high optical nonlinearity of the system. The working power can be flexibly tuned by changing the effective number of atoms strongly coupled to the cavity. The idea and result can be applied to optical chips as optical diodes by using fiber-based cavity QED systems. Our work opens up new perspectives for realizing optical nonreciprocity on a few-photon level based on the nonlinearities of atoms strongly coupled to an optical cavity.
(τ) of the transmitted probe light from the cavity is determined by the nonlinearity of the atom in the cavity. Therefore, the system provides a platform for controlling the photon statistics by manipulating nonlinearity. In this paper, we experimentally demonstrate nonreciprocal quantum statistics in a cavity QED system with several atoms strongly coupled to an asymmetric optical cavity, which is composed of two mirrors with different transmittivities. When the direction of the probe light is reversed, the intracavity light field alternates to a different level. Distinct photon statistics are then observed due to the quantum nonlinearity associated with strongly coupled atoms. Sub-Poissonian photon-number statistics for forward light and a Poissonian distribution for backward light are then realized. Our work provides an effective approach for realizing nonreciprocal quantum devices, which have potential applications in the unidirectional generation of nonclassical light fields and quantum sensing.
Manipulating the nature of photons emission is one of the basic tasks in quantum optics and photonics. The ever growing list of quantum applications requires a robust means of controlling the strongly coupled coherent interaction of photons and matter. Here, we investigate three-photon transmission spectra in a strongly coupled cavity polariton system and show that the correlation functions and transmitted photon stream can be optically manipulated. The dynamics of single photons and photon pairs at the polariton resonances can be changed by light from a single external coupling laser. At the "dark-state polariton," three-photon transmission is a perfectly coherent field in contrast to the strong photon-bunching behavior of a typical cavity quantum electrodynamics system. When the detuned probe light is tuned to the "bright polariton," the light exhibits a dramatic photon antibunching effect. Remarkably, the Fano-resonant asymmetric three-photon transmission caused by the interference between the dressed states leads to a new quantum feature that is strongly nonclassical (the third-order correlation function g((3))(0, 0) ≪ 1) and has a wide and tunable bandwidth. The dependence of the intrinsic third-order correlation and time symmetry of the photon stream on the controlled parameters is also examined. Strongly nonclassical, all-optically controllable multi-photon dynamics are very important for future quantum devices and metrology.
Abstract Nonreciprocal optical responses are investigated, induced by the chiral coupling in a cavity magnomechanical system, which contains a ring resonator and an yttrium iron garnet disk. Benefiting from the chiral magnon‐photon coupling, the signal from different directions can exhibit different optical responses for bistability, transmission, group delay, and quantum noise. Notably, optical nonreciprocity with isolation up to 30 dB can be realized based on chiral‐induced the breaking of Lorentzian reciprocity. Moreover, the introduction of magnon modes can achieve directional conversion between fast light and slow light, resulting in that direction‐dependent nonreciprocal fast‐slow light effect can also be achieved utilizing magnetic devices with chirality. At the same time, the nonreciprocal coexistence range of fast light and slow light can also be efficiently broadened by chiral magnon‐photon coupling strength. Furthermore, it can be observed that the quantum noise spectrum of the system is robust to temperature, even at 50 mK. This study not only reveals the important role of chiral coupling in the optical nonreciprocity, but also provides an efficient method for the development of optical nonreciprocal devices.
Nonreciprocal optical devices are essential for laser protection, modern optical communication and quantum information processing by enforcing one-way light propagation. The conventional Faraday magneto-optical nonreciprocal devices rely on a strong magnetic field, which is provided by a permanent magnet. As a result, the isolation direction of such devices is fixed and severely restricts their applications in quantum networks. In this work, we experimentally demonstrate the simultaneous one-way transmission and unidirectional reflection by using a magneto-optical Fabry–Pérot cavity and a magnetic field strength of 50 mT. An optical isolator and a three-port quasi-circulator are realized based on this nonreciprocal cavity system. The isolator achieves an isolation ratio of up to 22 dB and an averaged insertion loss down to 0.97 dB. The quasi-circulator is realized with a fidelity exceeding 99% and an overall survival probability of 89.9%, corresponding to an insertion loss of ∼0.46 dB. The magnetic field is provided by an electromagnetic coil, thereby allowing for reversing the light circulating path. The reversible quasi-circulator paves the way for building reconfigurable quantum networks.