ABSTRACT Within a cavity quantum electrodynamics framework, we analyse the fluorescent spectrum of ultracold bosons in resonant and second‐harmonic generation (SHG) regimes. Two settings are considered: (i) (few) bosons in an optical lattice and (ii) a trapped two‐component dilute Bose–Einstein condensate (2BEC) within the Bogoliubov scheme. Atom–photon dynamics are treated exactly via time‐dependent configuration interaction, while cavity leakage is modelled via classical oscillator baths. For optical lattices, bosons in short Bose–Hubbard chains with two levels per site show spectral intensity that increases with atom number at weak interactions but decreases and redshifts at strong interactions once atoms outnumber sites. In the 2BEC case, spectra largely scale with particle number when 2BEC–cavity and inter‐particle couplings are rescaled, while strong correlations induce SHG redshifts. These results reveal some generic features of fluorescence in ultracold bosons in optical cavities, and hint at possible experiments and further theoretical developments.
ABSTRACT Within a cavity quantum electrodynamics framework, we analyse the fluorescent spectrum of ultracold bosons in resonant and second‐harmonic generation (SHG) regimes. Two settings are considered: (i) (few) bosons in an optical lattice and (ii) a trapped two‐component dilute Bose–Einstein condensate (2BEC) within the Bogoliubov scheme. Atom–photon dynamics are treated exactly via time‐dependent configuration interaction, while cavity leakage is modelled via classical oscillator baths. For optical lattices, bosons in short Bose–Hubbard chains with two levels per site show spectral intensity that increases with atom number at weak interactions but decreases and redshifts at strong interactions once atoms outnumber sites. In the 2BEC case, spectra largely scale with particle number when 2BEC–cavity and inter‐particle couplings are rescaled, while strong correlations induce SHG redshifts. These results reveal some generic features of fluorescence in ultracold bosons in optical cavities, and hint at possible experiments and further theoretical developments.
Due to their conceptual appeal and computational convenience, two‐level systems (TLSs) and generalizations are used to investigate nonlinear behavior in quantum optics and assess the applicability of theoretical methods. Herein, the focus is on second‐harmonic generation (SHG) and, as system of interest, on the Dicke model, which consists of several TLSs inside an optical cavity. The main aspect addressed is the scope of nonequilibrium Green's function (NEGF) to describe the effect of inhomogeneities and electron–electron (e–e) interactions on the SHG signal. For benchmarking purposes, exact diagonalization (ED) results are also presented and discussed. SHG spectra obtained with NEGF and ED are found to be in very good mutual agreement in most situations. Furthermore, inhomogeneity in the TLS and e–e interactions reduce the SHG signal, and the reduction is stronger with inhomogeneity than with interactions. This trend is consistently noted across different (small to large) system sizes. Finally, a modified NEGF approach is proposed to account for cavity leakage, where the quantum photon fields are coupled to a bath of classical oscillators. As expected, within this mixed quantum‐classical scheme, a decrease in the intensity of the fluorescent spectra takes place depending on the entity of leakage.
We study the time-resolved fluorescence spectrum in two-level systems interacting with an incident coherent field, both in the weak and intermediate coupling regimes. For a single two-level system in the intermediate-coupling case, as time flows, the spectrum develops distinct features that are not captured by a semiclassical treatment of the incident field. Specifically, for a field on resonance with the atomic transition energy, the usual Mollow spectrum is replaced by a four-peak structure, and for a frequency that is half of the atomic transition energy, the time-dependent spectrum develops a second-harmonic peak with a superimposed Mollow triplet. In the long-time limit, our description recovers results previously found in the literature. After analyzing why a different behavior is observed in the quantum and classical dynamics, the reason for the occurrence of a second-harmonic signal in a two-level system is explained via a symmetry analysis of the total (electron and photon) system and in terms of a three-level system operating in limiting regimes. We find an increased second-harmonic signal in an array of two-level systems, suggesting a superradiance-like enhancement for multiple two-level systems in cavity setups. Finally, initial explorative results are presented for two-level model atoms entering and exiting a cavity, which hint at an interesting interplay between cavity-photon screening and atomic dynamics effects.
Ultracold bosonic gases in optical lattices are strongly correlated quantum systems similar to solids. The strong correlation between the electrons in a solid on the one hand, and the bosonic atoms in optical lattice on the other, exhibit various quantum phenomena like insulation, conductivity, localization of electrons and atoms, respectively. Controlled by the intensity of the lattice laser, the ultracold bosonic gas can be transferred from a regime with superfluid character for shallow lattices into a regime of strong correlations, the Mott insulator. As an additional external parameter besides the lattice depth, one can generate spatial inhomogeneities by superimposing an additional standing wave (so-called two-color superlattices), which gives rise to localization effects or the formation of a Bose-glass phase. In the present work, numerical simulations are employed in order to investigate characteristic signatures of the quantum phases in the low-energy excitation spectrum of one-dimensional systems. We simulate temporal small amplitude modulations of the optical lattice in analogy to experiments, and evaluate the response of the system from the time-evolved initial state. The lattice systems are described in the framework of the Bose-Hubbard model. For the evaluation of the time-evolved state, we employ several numerical methods. We analyze systems of small size (6 particles on 6 sites) using an exact time-evolution by integration of the time-dependent Schrödinger equation. The formulation of an importance truncation scheme enables us to retain only the relevant components of the model space in the strongly correlated regime and, thus, allows for the investigation of systems with 10 particles on 10 sites using exact time-evolution. Based on this method, we present results of the Mott-insulating regime as well as for the Bose-glass phase. Furthermore, we employ particle-hole methods, which allow for the treatment of systems with experimental lattice sizes and particle numbers. Starting from the equation of motion method we adapt the Tamm-Dancoff approximation as well as the random-phase approximation for the occupation number representation of the Bose-Hubbard model. We present results of simulations of up to 50 particles on 50 sites and discuss the impact of the lattice depth on the low-energy excitations (U-resonance). Moreover, the impact of a two-color superlattice and the variation of its amplitude is investigated.
We investigate harmonically trapped, laser-pumped bosons with infinite-range interactions induced by a dissipative high-finesse red-detuned optical cavity with numerical and analytical methods. We obtain multiple cavity and atomic observables as well as the full phase diagram of the system using the multiconfigurational time-dependent Hartree method for indistinguishable particles (MCTDH-X) approach. Besides the transition from an unorganized normal phase to a superradiant phase where the atoms self-organize, we focus on an in-depth investigation of the self-organized superfluid to self-organized Mott-insulator phase transition in the superradiant phase as a function of the cavity-atom coupling. The numerical results are substantiated by an analytical study of an effective Bose-Hubbard model. We numerically analyze cavity fluctuations and emergent strong correlations between atoms in the many-body state across the Mott transition via the atomic density distributions and Glauber correlation functions. Unexpectedly, the weak harmonic trap leads to features like a lattice switching between the two symmetry-broken Z2 configurations of the untrapped system and a reentrance of superfluidity in the Mott-insulating phase. Our analytical considerations quantitatively explain the numerically observed correlation features.
The dynamics of an ultracold dilute boson gas in an optical lattice is described in the framework of the Bose-Hubbard model in which the parameters of the system are controlled by light. Within this model, an ensemble of Bose-Einstein condensates trapped in cells of a double optical lattice generates an echo response in the quantum-mechanical probability current. The echo signal is excited by biharmonic radiation pulses under two-photon (Raman) resonance conditions. The time profile of the echo signal and the role played by the inhomogeneous broadening and the interaction of atoms in the formation of the boson echo are discussed.
This thesis summarizes the research work we did in the past years, which focuses on the theoretical study of quantum effects of ordered atomic structures interacting with the quantum electric field of an optical resonator. Within this work we investigated the quantum properties of the light at the cavity output, emitted by this kind of system, and the quantum state of the atoms confined by the light fields of the cavity mode. Following one possible partition, we have organized the thesis in two parts. The first part of the thesis is devoted to the quantum properties of the light at the output of optical cavities, in which atoms are confined. After a brief introduction on the basics of atom-photon interactions, we show theoretically, that two atomic dipoles in a resonator can behave as a quantum non-linear medium, whose response can be controlled through the interactomic distance of the atoms inside the resonator. We identify the parameter regime, for which the system operates as a parametric amplifier, based on the atoms' collective dipole cascade emission. Moreover we also determine the corresponding field squeezing spectrum at the cavity output. These dynamics could be observed as a result of self-organization processes of laser-cooled atoms in resonators. The second part of the thesis studies the quantum ground state of an ultracold atomic gas trapped inside an optical resonator by the mechanical effects of atom-photon interactions. Due to the strong coupling regime, the ultracold atomic gas feels a quantum potential, where the fluctuations at the single photon level may be relevant in determining the trapping conditions. This potential depends on the atomic distribution, which at the same time determines the intracavity field amplitude. Here, after a brief introduction on ultracold atoms in optical lattices, we study the low temperature physics of an ultracold atomic gas in the quantum potential formed inside a pumped cavity, by mapping the dynamics to an effective Bose-Hubbard model. We predict the existence of non-compressible states of the atomic gas, and determine a phase diagram as a function of the cavity parameters. Novel effects are encountered, such as the existence of overlapping stability regions corresponding to competing insulator-like states when the laser pumps the cavity, to provide one example out of many. At the end of the thesis a concluding chapter presents some general outlooks to this thesis work.