Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

arXiv:2502.20232 · npj Quantum Information

Microwave-coupled optical bistability in driven and interacting Rydberg gases

Zhehua Zhang, Zeyan Zhang, Shaoxing Han, Yuqing Zhang, Guoqing Zhang, Jizhou Wu, V. B. Sovkov, Wenliang Liu, Yuqing Li, Linjie Zhang, Liantuan Xiao, Suotang Jia, Weibin Li, Jie Ma

Published Mar 12, 2025• 4 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Nonequilibrium dynamics are closely related to various fields of research, in which vastly different phases emerge when parameters are changed. However, it is difficult to construct nonequilibrium systems that have sufficiently tunable controllable parameters. Using microwave field coupling induced optical bistability, Rydberg gases exhibit a range of significantly different optical responses. In conjunction with electromagnetically induced transparency, the microwave coupling can create versatile nonequilibrium dynamics. In particular, the microwave coupling of two Rydberg states provides an additional handle for controlling the dynamics. And the microwave-controlled nonequilibrium phase transition has the potential to be applied in microwave field measurement. This study opens a new avenue to exploring bistable dynamics using microwave-coupled Rydberg gases, and developing quantum technological applications.

DOI
10.1038/s41534-025-00997-z

Related papers

Folded multistability and hidden critical point in microwave-driven Rydberg atoms

Yu Ma, Bang Liu, Li-Hua Zhang +14 more

The interactions between Rydberg atoms and microwave fields provide a robust platform for exploring non-equilibrium dynamics, exotic phases, and critical phenomena. In this work, we observe a phase transition from bistability to multistability in strongly interacting Rydberg atoms. By tuning the microwave field intensity, we drive the system through a transition from Z 2 - to Z 3 -symmetry breaking. This process features a hidden critical point where multistable states are intrinsically difficult to measure. By manipulating the initial state of the system, we successfully uncover a hidden multistable state and its dynamical trajectory, allowing us to track the hidden critical point. Furthermore, we observe multiple spectral phase transitions, indicating higher-order multistability induced by split Rydberg sublevels. These findings advance the manipulation of multistability in microwave-driven Rydberg systems and open new avenues for applications in non-equilibrium collective atomic physics.

arXiv:2408.10514•Optics Letters•Jul 21, 2026•0 citations

Structural phase transitions of optical patterns in atomic gases with microwave-controlled Rydberg interactions

Zeyun Shi, Weibin Li, Guoxiang Huang

Spontaneous symmetry breaking and formation of self-organized structures in nonlinear systems are intriguing and important phenomena in nature. Advancing such research to new nonlinear optical regimes is of much interest for both fundamental physics and practical applications. Here we propose a scheme to realize optical pattern formation in a cold Rydberg atomic gas via electromagnetically induced transparency. We show that, by coupling two Rydberg states with a microwave field (microwave dressing), the nonlocal Kerr nonlinearity of the Rydberg gas can be enhanced significantly and may be tuned actively. Based on such nonlocal Kerr nonlinearity, we demonstrate that a plane-wave state of a probe laser field can undergo a modulation instability (MI) and hence spontaneous symmetry breaking, which may result in the emergence of various self-organized optical patterns. Especially, we find that a hexagonal lattice pattern (which is the only optical pattern when the microwave dressing is absent) may develop into several types of square lattice ones when the microwave dressing is applied; moreover, as an outcome of the MI the formation of nonlocal optical solitons is also possible in the system. The optical patterns and nonlocal optical solitons found here can be flexibly manipulated by adjusting the effective probe-field intensity, nonlocality degree of the Kerr nonlinearity, and strength of the microwave field. Our paper opens a route for versatile controls of self-organizations and structural phase transitions of laser light, which may have potential applications in optical information processing and transmission.

arXiv:2007.12452•Physical Review A•Aug 17, 2020•13 citations

Microwave-assisted Rydberg electromagnetically induced transparency

Thibault Vogt, Christian Groß, Thomas F. Gallagher +1 more

We demonstrate electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) in a four-level cascade-like system, where the two upper levels are Rydberg states coupled by a microwave field. A two-photon transition consisting of an off-resonant microwave field and an off-resonant optical field forms an effective coupling field to induce transparency of the probe light. We characterize the Rabi frequency of the effective coupling field, as well as the EIT microwave spectra. The results show that microwave-assisted EIT allows us to efficiently access Rydberg states with relatively high orbital angular momentum ℓ=3, which is promising for the study of exotic Rydberg molecular states.

arXiv:1802.00529•Optics Letters•Apr 9, 2018•24 citations

Two-dimensional spectroscopy of Rydberg gases

K. Mukherjee, Himangshu Prabal Goswami, S. Whitlock +2 more

Abstract Two-dimensional (2D) spectroscopy uses multiple electromagnetic pulses to infer the properties of a complex system. A paradigmatic class of target systems are molecular aggregates, for which one can obtain information on the eigenstates, various types of static and dynamic disorder and on relaxation processes. However, two-dimensional spectra can be difficult to interpret without precise knowledge of how the signal components relate to microscopic Hamiltonian parameters and system-bath interactions. Here we show that two-dimensional spectroscopy can be mapped in the microwave domain to highly controllable Rydberg quantum simulators. By porting 2D spectroscopy to Rydberg atoms, we firstly open the possibility of its experimental quantum simulation, in a case where parameters and interactions are very well known. Secondly, the technique may provide additional handles for experimental access to coherences between system states and the ability to discriminate different types of decoherence mechanisms in Rydberg gases. We investigate the requirements for a specific implementation utilizing multiple phase coherent microwave pulses and a phase cycling technique to isolate signal components.

arXiv:2003.12777•New Journal of Physics•Jun 4, 2020•8 citations

Emergence of subharmonics in a microwave driven dissipative Rydberg gas

Zong-Kai Liu, Konghao Sun, Albert Cabot +12 more

Quantum many-body systems near phase transitions respond collectively to externally applied perturbations. We explore this phenomenon in a laser-driven dissipative Rydberg gas that is tuned to a bistable regime. Here two metastable phases coexist, which feature a low and high density of Rydberg atoms, respectively. The ensuing collective dynamics, which we monitor , is characterized by stochastic collective jumps between these two macroscopically distinct many-body phases. We show that the statistics of these jumps can be controlled using a dual-tone microwave field. In particular, we find that the distribution of jump times develops peaks corresponding to subharmonics of the relative microwave detuning. Our study demonstrates the control of collective statistical properties of dissipative quantum many-body systems without the necessity of fine-tuning or of ultracold temperatures. Such robust many-body phenomena may find technological applications in sensing. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

arXiv:2402.04815•Physical Review Research•Sep 18, 2024•3 citations

Non-equilibrium phase-transitions in multi-component Rydberg gases

Dong-Sheng Ding, Bao-Sen Shi, Guang‐Can Guo +1 more

Highly-excited Rydberg atoms have strong long-range interactions resulting in exotic optical prop erties such as large single photon non-linearities and intrinsic bistability. In this paper we study optical-driven non-equilibrium phase transitions in a thermal Rydberg gas with a sensitivity two order of magnitude higher than in previous work. In this regime we can elucidate the effect of inter actions on the bistable optical response, and exploit different branches in the potential in order to study multi-component Rydberg gases with a rich of phase diagram including overlapping bistable regions. In addition, we study the effect of polarization on the width of the hysteresis loop. Finally, we observe that the medium exhibits a dynamical instability resulting from the competing dynamics of excitation and decay.

•Jun 28, 2016•2 citations
Nonequilibrium dynamics are closely related to various fields of research, in which vastly different phases emerge when parameters are changed. However, it is difficult to construct nonequilibrium systems that have sufficiently tunable controllable parameters. Using microwave field coupling induced optical bistability, Rydberg gases exhibit a range of significantly different optical responses. In conjunction with electromagnetically induced transparency, the microwave coupling can create versatile nonequilibrium dynamics. In particular, the microwave coupling of two Rydberg states provides an additional handle for controlling the dynamics. And the microwave-controlled nonequilibrium phase transition has the potential to be applied in microwave field measurement. This study opens a new avenue to exploring bistable dynamics using microwave-coupled Rydberg gases, and developing quantum technological applications.
The interactions between Rydberg atoms and microwave fields provide a robust platform for exploring non-equilibrium dynamics, exotic phases, and critical phenomena. In this work, we observe a phase transition from bistability to multistability in strongly interacting Rydberg atoms. By tuning the microwave field intensity, we drive the system through a transition from Z 2 - to Z 3 -symmetry breaking. This process features a hidden critical point where multistable states are intrinsically difficult to measure. By manipulating the initial state of the system, we successfully uncover a hidden multistable state and its dynamical trajectory, allowing us to track the hidden critical point. Furthermore, we observe multiple spectral phase transitions, indicating higher-order multistability induced by split Rydberg sublevels. These findings advance the manipulation of multistability in microwave-driven Rydberg systems and open new avenues for applications in non-equilibrium collective atomic physics.
Spontaneous symmetry breaking and formation of self-organized structures in nonlinear systems are intriguing and important phenomena in nature. Advancing such research to new nonlinear optical regimes is of much interest for both fundamental physics and practical applications. Here we propose a scheme to realize optical pattern formation in a cold Rydberg atomic gas via electromagnetically induced transparency. We show that, by coupling two Rydberg states with a microwave field (microwave dressing), the nonlocal Kerr nonlinearity of the Rydberg gas can be enhanced significantly and may be tuned actively. Based on such nonlocal Kerr nonlinearity, we demonstrate that a plane-wave state of a probe laser field can undergo a modulation instability (MI) and hence spontaneous symmetry breaking, which may result in the emergence of various self-organized optical patterns. Especially, we find that a hexagonal lattice pattern (which is the only optical pattern when the microwave dressing is absent) may develop into several types of square lattice ones when the microwave dressing is applied; moreover, as an outcome of the MI the formation of nonlocal optical solitons is also possible in the system. The optical patterns and nonlocal optical solitons found here can be flexibly manipulated by adjusting the effective probe-field intensity, nonlocality degree of the Kerr nonlinearity, and strength of the microwave field. Our paper opens a route for versatile controls of self-organizations and structural phase transitions of laser light, which may have potential applications in optical information processing and transmission.
We demonstrate electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) in a four-level cascade-like system, where the two upper levels are Rydberg states coupled by a microwave field. A two-photon transition consisting of an off-resonant microwave field and an off-resonant optical field forms an effective coupling field to induce transparency of the probe light. We characterize the Rabi frequency of the effective coupling field, as well as the EIT microwave spectra. The results show that microwave-assisted EIT allows us to efficiently access Rydberg states with relatively high orbital angular momentum ℓ=3, which is promising for the study of exotic Rydberg molecular states.
Abstract Two-dimensional (2D) spectroscopy uses multiple electromagnetic pulses to infer the properties of a complex system. A paradigmatic class of target systems are molecular aggregates, for which one can obtain information on the eigenstates, various types of static and dynamic disorder and on relaxation processes. However, two-dimensional spectra can be difficult to interpret without precise knowledge of how the signal components relate to microscopic Hamiltonian parameters and system-bath interactions. Here we show that two-dimensional spectroscopy can be mapped in the microwave domain to highly controllable Rydberg quantum simulators. By porting 2D spectroscopy to Rydberg atoms, we firstly open the possibility of its experimental quantum simulation, in a case where parameters and interactions are very well known. Secondly, the technique may provide additional handles for experimental access to coherences between system states and the ability to discriminate different types of decoherence mechanisms in Rydberg gases. We investigate the requirements for a specific implementation utilizing multiple phase coherent microwave pulses and a phase cycling technique to isolate signal components.
Quantum many-body systems near phase transitions respond collectively to externally applied perturbations. We explore this phenomenon in a laser-driven dissipative Rydberg gas that is tuned to a bistable regime. Here two metastable phases coexist, which feature a low and high density of Rydberg atoms, respectively. The ensuing collective dynamics, which we monitor , is characterized by stochastic collective jumps between these two macroscopically distinct many-body phases. We show that the statistics of these jumps can be controlled using a dual-tone microwave field. In particular, we find that the distribution of jump times develops peaks corresponding to subharmonics of the relative microwave detuning. Our study demonstrates the control of collective statistical properties of dissipative quantum many-body systems without the necessity of fine-tuning or of ultracold temperatures. Such robust many-body phenomena may find technological applications in sensing. Published by the American Physical Society 2024
Highly-excited Rydberg atoms have strong long-range interactions resulting in exotic optical prop erties such as large single photon non-linearities and intrinsic bistability. In this paper we study optical-driven non-equilibrium phase transitions in a thermal Rydberg gas with a sensitivity two order of magnitude higher than in previous work. In this regime we can elucidate the effect of inter actions on the bistable optical response, and exploit different branches in the potential in order to study multi-component Rydberg gases with a rich of phase diagram including overlapping bistable regions. In addition, we study the effect of polarization on the width of the hysteresis loop. Finally, we observe that the medium exhibits a dynamical instability resulting from the competing dynamics of excitation and decay.