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arXiv:2111.08675 · Physical Review Research

Atomic Floquet physics revealed by free electrons

Eduardo Arqué López, Valerio Di Giulio, F. Javier Garcı́a de Abajo

Published Mar 29, 2022• 12 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

We theoretically investigate the ability of free electrons to yield information on the nonlinear Floquet dynamics of atomic systems subject to intense external illumination. By applying a quantum-mechanical formalism to describe the atom-electron interaction under the presence of a monochromatic classical light field, we observe multiple energy features that reveal a large departure from nonillumination conditions in two- and three-level illuminated atoms, including the emergence of energy features associated with direct photon absorption and emission by the electron, as well as a varied set of Floquet resonances that strongly depend on the light intensity and frequency. Our results unveil a wealth of effects associated with the interaction between free electrons and optically driven electronic systems.

DOI
10.1103/physrevresearch.4.013241

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We theoretically investigate the ability of free electrons to yield information on the nonlinear Floquet dynamics of atomic systems subject to intense external illumination. By applying a quantum-mechanical formalism to describe the atom-electron interaction under the presence of a monochromatic classical light field, we observe multiple energy features that reveal a large departure from nonillumination conditions in two- and three-level illuminated atoms, including the emergence of energy features associated with direct photon absorption and emission by the electron, as well as a varied set of Floquet resonances that strongly depend on the light intensity and frequency. Our results unveil a wealth of effects associated with the interaction between free electrons and optically driven electronic systems.
Subjecting a physical system to a time-periodic drive can substantially modify its properties and applications. This Floquet-engineering approach has been extensively applied to a wide range of classical and quantum settings in view of designing synthetic systems with exotic properties. Considering a general class of two-mode nonlinear optical devices, we show that effective optical nonlinearities can be created by subjecting the light field to a repeated pulse sequence, which couples the two modes in a fast and time-periodic manner. The strength of these drive-induced optical nonlinearities, which include an emerging four-wave mixing, can be varied by simply adjusting the pulse sequence. This leads to topological changes in the system's phase space, which can be detected through light intensity and phase measurements. Our proposal builds on an effective-Hamiltonian approach, which derives from a parent quantum many-body Hamiltonian describing driven interacting bosons. As a corollary, our results equally apply to Bose-Einstein condensates in driven double-well potentials, where pair tunneling effectively arises from the periodic pulse sequence. Our scheme offers a practical route to engineer and finely tune exotic nonlinearities and interactions in photonics and ultracold quantum gases.
Many nonlinear quantum optical physics phenomena need more accurate wave functions and corresponding energy or quasienergy levels to account for. An analytic expression of wave functions with corresponding energy levels for an atomic electron interacting with a photon field is presented as an exact solution to the Schrödinger-like equation involved with both atomic Coulomb interaction and electron-photon interaction. The solution is a natural generalization of the quantum-field Volkov states for an otherwise free electron interacting with a photon field. The solution shows that an N level atom in light form stationary states without extra energy splitting in addition to the Floquet mechanism. The treatment developed here with computing codes can be conveniently transferred to quantum optics in classical-field version as research tools to benefit the whole physics community.
Many nonlinear quantum optical physics phenomena need more accurate wave functions and corresponding energy or quasienergy levels to account for. An analytic expression of wave functions with corresponding energy levels for an atomic electron interacting with a photon field is presented as an exact solution to the SchrSdinger-like equation involved with both atomic Coulomb interaction and electron-photon interaction. The solution is a natural generalization of the quantum-field Volkov states for an otherwise free electron interacting with a photon field. The solution shows that an N- level atom in light form stationary states without extra energy splitting in addition to the Floquet mechanism. The treatment developed here with computing codes can be conveniently transferred to quantum optics in classical-field version as research tools to benefit the whole physics community.
This book provides a thorough introduction to the interaction of atoms and atomic ions with optical and magnetic fields. Particular emphasis is placed on the wealth of important multilevel effects, where atomic vapours exhibit anisotropic behaviour. As well as covering the classic two-level atom approach to light-atom interactions, a general multi-level formalism is also described in detail, and used to discuss optical pumping, two-dimensional spectroscopy and nonlinear optical dynamics. The final chapter deals with the mechanical effects of light, including the cooling and trapping of atoms. With full theoretical and experimental coverage, and over 250 illustrations, the book will be of great interest to graduate students of laser spectroscopy, quantum electronics and quantum optics, and to researchers in these fields.
Light-matter strong coupling has been the subject of much attention in recent decades, giving optical systems unique features. However, properties of a system with strong coupling are determined by the properties of its components and are thus difficult to control. Here, we propose Floquet engineering, a technique of controlling the energy levels of a quantum system using external fields, as a method of manipulating a hybrid system of a molecule strongly coupled to a single-mode resonator. We show that an external field can change the relative positions of levels in an open strongly coupled system, leading to a change in the rates of transitions between them. We demonstrate that if the frequency of the pumping wave is close to polariton transitions in the hybrid system, nonmonotonic dependence of fluorescence and scattering amplitudes on pump intensity with a narrow resonance-like response occurs. We show that this phenomenon occurs due to hybridization of the lower and upper polaritons with substantially different excitation numbers caused by the pumping affecting polariton states of the system. This occurs when the Rabi interaction with the coherent field is comparable to the field-matter coupling constant, which in turn needs to be sufficient for the manifestation of strong coupling. This nonmonotonic dependence of the fluorescence and scattering amplitudes on pump rate intensity paves the way for the creation of nonlinear optical devices.