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arXiv:2310.08388 · Journal of the Optical Society of America B

How is photon-blockade breakdown different from optical bistability? A neoclassical story

Árpád Kurkó, Nikolett Német, András Vukics

Published Apr 22, 2024• 3 citations

Abstract

The photon-blockade breakdown bistability can be intuitively explained invoking the energy spectrum of the interacting qubit-mode system. Yet, the neoclassical solution of the driven-dissipative Jaynes-Cummings model has been shown to capture several key aspects of the phenomenon. In this paper, we set out to compare a fully quantum solution with the neo- and semiclassical solutions. Although the neoclassical theory is founded on the assumption of a pure partial state for the qubit, it is not simply the γ →0 limit of the semiclassical theory, the semi- versus neoclassical duality being a case of non-commutativity of limits. Furthermore, we show that the neoclassical predictions still hold in the case of a small qubit decay. Tracing the bistable behavior for different detunings, we show that it is robust over a significant range of Δ values. We demonstrate that the aptitude of the neoclassical description is founded on the high quantum purity of the bright state of the photon-blockade breakdown bistability, which sharply differentiates this phenomenology from conventional optical bistability. It is thereby demonstrated that driven-dissipative dynamics can produce closely separable pure steady states in an interacting bipartite.

DOI: 10.1364/josab.522547

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The photon-blockade breakdown bistability can be intuitively explained invoking the energy spectrum of the interacting qubit-mode system. Yet, the neoclassical solution of the driven-dissipative Jaynes-Cummings model has been shown to capture several key aspects of the phenomenon. In this paper, we set out to compare a fully quantum solution with the neo- and semiclassical solutions. Although the neoclassical theory is founded on the assumption of a pure partial state for the qubit, it is not simply the γ →0 limit of the semiclassical theory, the semi- versus neoclassical duality being a case of non-commutativity of limits. Furthermore, we show that the neoclassical predictions still hold in the case of a small qubit decay. Tracing the bistable behavior for different detunings, we show that it is robust over a significant range of Δ values. We demonstrate that the aptitude of the neoclassical description is founded on the high quantum purity of the bright state of the photon-blockade breakdown bistability, which sharply differentiates this phenomenology from conventional optical bistability. It is thereby demonstrated that driven-dissipative dynamics can produce closely separable pure steady states in an interacting bipartite.

Photon blockade is the result of the interplay between the quantized nature of light and strong optical nonlinearities, whereby strong photon-photon repulsion prevents a quantum optical system from absorbing multiple photons.We theoretically study a single atom coupled to the light field, described by the resonantly driven Jaynes-Cummings model, in which case the photon blockade breaks down in a second-order phase transition at a critical drive strength.We show that this transition is associated to the spontaneous breaking of an antiunitary PT symmetry.Within a semiclassical approximation, we calculate the expectation values of observables in the steady state.We then move beyond the semiclassical approximation and approach the critical point from the disordered (blockaded) phase by reducing the Lindblad quantum master equation to a classical rate equation that we solve.The width of the steady-state distribution in Fock space is found to diverge as we approach the critical point with a simple power law, allowing us to calculate the critical scaling of steady-state observables without invoking mean-field theory.We propose a simple physical toy model for biased diffusion in the space of occupation numbers, which captures the universal properties of the steady state.We list several experimental platforms where this phenomenon may be observed.

We approach the strong-coupling thermodynamic limit in the response of the open driven Jaynes-Cummings (JC) oscillator. We do so by highlighting the role of quantum fluctuations against the semiclassical response in three distinct regimes of operation. We begin by demonstrating the persistence of photon blockade, predicted in Carmichael [Phys. Rev. X 5, 031028 (2015)], as a manifestation of the inherently quantum and nonlinear JC spectrum revealed for vanishing dissipation. We then proceed to discuss the importance of bistability, which, despite being present in photon blockades, is able to provide an alignment between the semiclassical nonlinearity and quantum dynamics only for a driving amplitude having the same order of magnitude as the light-matter coupling strength. This resolution brings us to the critical point of the well-known quantum-phase transition of second order on resonance, where the quantum and semiclassical pictures are once more contrasted for a varying participation of the two coherent interactions when going through the collapse of the quasienergy spectrum.

We follow the passage from complex amplitude bistability to phase bistability in the driven dissipative Jaynes-Cummings oscillator. Quasi -distribution functions in the steady state are employed, for varying qubit-cavity detuning and drive parameters, in order to track a first-order dissipative quantum phase transition up to the critical point marking a second-order transition and spontaneous symmetry breaking. We demonstrate the photon blockade breakdown in the dispersive regime, and find that the coexistence of cavity states in the regime of quantum bistability is accompanied by pronounced qubit-cavity entanglement. Focusing on the effect of quantum-activated switching for both coupled degrees of freedom, we move from a region of minimal entanglement in the dispersive regime, where we derive analytical perturbative results, to the threshold behaviour of spontaneous dressed-state polarization at resonance.

Due to the fundamental differences between the quantum world and the classical world, some phenomena, such as entanglement and wave–particle duality, only exist in the quantum realm. These peculiar phenomena cannot be demonstrated by classical means: Quantum networks, quantum cryptography, and quantum precision measurements all require quantum sources. Photons are particularly well-suited as quantum sources owing to their minimal interaction with the environment, high flight speed, and ease of interaction with current typical quantum systems. Single-photon sources include pulsed excitation of quantum dots, spontaneous parametric down-conversion, and photon blockade. Herein, we propose that the anti-Jaynes–Cummings model can induce a pronounced photon antibunching effect when subjected to intense cavity dissipation. Similar to the photon blockade caused by strong photon–photon interaction, this antibunching effect is referred to as ’dissipation-induced blockade’. Our findings indicate that the minimum decay rate of a qubit, coupled with a high decay rate for photons, is conducive to achieving strong antibunching within the system. Notably, g(2)(0)<g(2)(τ), a characteristic of photon antibunching, is only valid under the optimal condition Δ=0. Conversely, g(2)(0)<1 is satisfied across all parameters, indicating that g(2)(0)<1 is not a prerequisite for antibunching in the anti-Jaynes–Cummings model. Moreover, under the optimal conditions of the antibunching effect, the average photon number attains its peak value. Consequently, the current anti-Jaynes–Cummings model is promising for developing single-photon sources characterized by excellent purity and average photon number.