We study numerically the slow (subradiant) decay of the fluorescence of motionless atoms after a weak pulsed excitation. We show that, in the linear-optics regime and for an excitation detuned by several natural linewidths, the slow decay rate can be dominated by close pairs of atoms (dimers) forming superradiant and subradiant states. However, for a large-enough resonant optical depth and at later time, the dynamics is dominated by collective many-body effects. In this regime, we study the polarization and the spectrum of the emitted light, as well as the spatial distribution of excitation inside the sample, as a function of time during the decay dynamics. The behavior of these observables is consistent with what would be expected for radiation trapping of nearly resonant light. This finding sheds light on subradiance in dilute samples by providing an interpretation based on the light behavior of the system (multiple scattering) which is complementary to the more commonly used picture of the collective atomic Dicke state.
We study numerically the slow (subradiant) decay of the fluorescence of motionless atoms after a weak pulsed excitation. We show that, in the linear-optics regime and for an excitation detuned by several natural linewidths, the slow decay rate can be dominated by close pairs of atoms (dimers) forming superradiant and subradiant states. However, for a large-enough resonant optical depth and at later time, the dynamics is dominated by collective many-body effects. In this regime, we study the polarization and the spectrum of the emitted light, as well as the spatial distribution of excitation inside the sample, as a function of time during the decay dynamics. The behavior of these observables is consistent with what would be expected for radiation trapping of nearly resonant light. This finding sheds light on subradiance in dilute samples by providing an interpretation based on the light behavior of the system (multiple scattering) which is complementary to the more commonly used picture of the collective atomic Dicke state.
We numerically study the slow (subradiant) decay of the fluorescence of motionless atoms after a weak pulsed excitation. We show that, in the linear-optics regime and for an excitation detuned by several natural linewidths, the slow decay rate can be dominated by close pairs of atoms (dimers) forming superradiant and subradiant states. However, for large-enough resonant optical depth and at later time, the dynamics can also be dominated by radiation trapping due to classical multiple scattering. Signatures of this regime are found in the spatial distribution of excited atoms, which fulfills the prediction of the diffusion equation, in the polarization of the emitted light, which is depolarized at late time, and in the spectrum, which is mainly at the atomic resonance.
We experimentally and numerically study the temporal dynamics of light scattered by large clouds of cold atoms after the exciting laser is switched off, in the low intensity (linear-optics) regime. Radiation trapping due to multiple scattering as well as subradiance lead to decay much slower than the single atom fluorescence decay. These two effects have already been observed separately, but the interplay between them remained to be understood. Here, we show that with well chosen parameters of the driving field, the two effects can occur at the same time, but follow different scaling behaviors. The subradiant decay is observed at late time and its rate is independent of the detuning, while the radiation trapping decay is observed at intermediate time and depends on the detuning through the optical depth of the sample. Numerical simulations based on random walk process and coupled-dipole equations support our interpretations. Our study clarifies the different interpretations and physical mechanisms at the origin of slow temporal dynamics of light in cold atoms.
Since Dicke's seminal paper on coherence in spontaneous radiation by atomic ensembles, superradiance has been extensively studied. Subradiance, on the contrary, has remained elusive, mainly because subradiant states are weakly coupled to the environment and are very sensitive to nonradiative decoherence processes. Here, we report the experimental observation of subradiance in an extended and dilute cold-atom sample containing a large number of particles. We use a far detuned laser to avoid multiple scattering and observe the temporal decay after a sudden switch-off of the laser beam. After the fast decay of most of the fluorescence, we detect a very slow decay, with time constants as long as 100 times the natural lifetime of the excited state of individual atoms. This subradiant time constant scales linearly with the cooperativity parameter, corresponding to the on-resonance optical depth of the sample, and is independent of the laser detuning, as expected from a coupled-dipole model.
Abstract The fluorescence dynamics of optically dense but dilute atomic ensembles cooled to sub-Doppler temperatures and excited by resonant pulsed radiation is studied. Apart from total radiation intensity, the temporal variations of the spectral composition of fluorescence and its polarization, as well as the variation of the spatial distribution of excitation in the atomic ensemble, are analyzed. Based on this analysis, it is shown that the role of radiation trapping becomes smaller with time, and subradiance quantum states formed as a result of the resonant dipole–dipole interatomic interaction become the main factor determining the slow atomic excitation decay. The dependence of the subradiance form on the ensemble size is analyzed.
The interaction of light with an atomic sample containing a large number of particles gives rise to many collective (or cooperative) effects, such as multiple scattering, superradiance, and subradiance, even if the atomic density is low and the incident optical intensity weak (linear optics regime). Tracing over the degrees of freedom of the light field, the system can be well described by an effective atomic Hamiltonian, which contains the light-mediated dipole-dipole interaction between atoms. This long-range interaction is at the origin of the various collective effects, or of collective excitation modes of the system. Even though an analysis of the eigenvalues and eigenfunctions of these collective modes does allow distinguishing superradiant modes, for instance, from other collective modes, this is not sufficient to understand the dynamics of a driven system, as not all collective modes are significantly populated. Here, we study how the excitation parameters, i.e., the driving field, determines the population of the collective modes. We investigate in particular the role of the laser detuning from the atomic transition, and demonstrate a simple relation between the detuning and the steady-state population of the modes. This relation allows understanding several properties of cooperative scattering, such as why superradiance and subradiance become independent of the detuning at large enough detuning without vanishing, and why superradiance, but not subradiance, is suppressed near resonance. We also show that the spatial properties of the collective modes allow distinguishing diffusive modes, responsible for radiation trapping, from subradiant modes.
We report the investigation of the influence of atomic motion on the fluorescence dynamics of a dilute atomic ensemble driven by resonance pulse radiation. We show that even for sub-Doppler temperatures, the motion of atoms can significantly affect the nature of both superradiation and subradiation. We also demonstrate that, in the case of an ensemble of moving scatterers, it is possible to observe the nonmonotonic time dependence of the fluorescence rate. This leads to the fact that, in certain time intervals, increasing temperature causes not an decrease but an increase of the fluorescence intensity in the cone of coherent scattering. We analyze the role of the frequency diffusion of secondary radiation as a result of multiple light scattering in an optically dense medium. It is shown that spectrum broadening is the main factor which determines radiation trapping upon resonant excitation. Along with broadening, we found a shift and distortion of the shape of the spectrum over time. At later time, after the trapping stage, the dynamics is dominated by close pairs of atoms (dimers). The dynamics of the excited states of these dimers has been studied in detail. It is shown that the change in the lifetime of the given adiabatic term of the diatomic quasimolecule induced by the change in the interatomic distance as well as possible nonadiabatic transitions between sub- and superradiant states caused by atomic motion can lead not to the anticipated weakening of subradiation effect, but to its enhancement.