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arXiv:2604.05783 · Nature

Quantum-Boosted Nonlinear Tunneling Driven by a Bright Squeezed Vacuum

Zhejun Jiang, Shengzhe Pan, Jianqi Chen, Mingyu Zhu, Chenhao Zhao, Yiwen Wang, Ru Zhang, Jianshi Lu, Lulu Han, Suwen Xiong, Dian Wu, Wenxue Li, Shicheng Jiang, Hongcheng Ni, Jian Wu

quant-phphysics.atom-phphysics.opticsSubmitted Apr 7, 2026• Announced Apr 8, 2026• 7 citations
v1 · Apr 7, 2026v2 · May 20, 2026
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Nonlinear processes, mediated by multiphoton interactions rather than single-photon response, drive numerous fundamental phenomena and momentous applications in modern physics. Among these processes, tunneling ionization plays a pivotal role as it drives high-harmonic generation, forming the basis of attosecond science and enabling the visualization and control of electron motion at its natural time scale. Quantum light, with its unique capacity for quantum noise redistribution, offers a transformative solution to boost nonlinear responses. Here, we report the first experiment of nonlinear tunneling ionization of the most fundamental system of atoms boosted by a quantum light -- bright squeezed vacuum (BSV). Remarkably, the tunneling ionization of a single sodium atom induced by a 300 nJ BSV beam matches that achieved with a 7.1 {\textmu}J coherent light source, demonstrating a dramatic boost in nonlinear efficiency from phase-squeezed quantum light. Moreover, the effective intensity of the BSV light and thus the boosted tunneling ionization can be precisely controlled by tuning the degree of phase squeezing while maintaining the average pulse energy. These findings provide fundamental insights into quantum-boosted nonlinear effect and pave the way for efficient frequency conversion and quantum-controlled molecular reactions using tailored quantum light sources.

Journal reference
Nature (2026)
DOI
10.1038/s41586-026-10485-9
Comments
This is the initial submission; revised submission will be available upon approval

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Nonlinear processes, mediated by multiphoton interactions rather than single-photon response, drive numerous fundamental phenomena and momentous applications in modern physics. Among these processes, tunneling ionization plays a pivotal role as it drives high-harmonic generation, forming the basis of attosecond science and enabling the visualization and control of electron motion at its natural time scale. Quantum light, with its unique capacity for quantum noise redistribution, offers a transformative solution to boost nonlinear responses. Here, we report the first experiment of nonlinear tunneling ionization of the most fundamental system of atoms boosted by a quantum light -- bright squeezed vacuum (BSV). Remarkably, the tunneling ionization of a single sodium atom induced by a 300 nJ BSV beam matches that achieved with a 7.1 {\textmu}J coherent light source, demonstrating a dramatic boost in nonlinear efficiency from phase-squeezed quantum light. Moreover, the effective intensity of the BSV light and thus the boosted tunneling ionization can be precisely controlled by tuning the degree of phase squeezing while maintaining the average pulse energy. These findings provide fundamental insights into quantum-boosted nonlinear effect and pave the way for efficient frequency conversion and quantum-controlled molecular reactions using tailored quantum light sources.
Strong-field ionization is the cornerstone of attosecond physics, which has been extensively studied under coherent-state driving. Recently, the interface between attosecond physics and quantum optics has emerged as a new frontier. Yet, owing to experimental limitations, the role of the quantum nature of light in atomic strong-field ionization has remained unexplored. Here, we demonstrate strong-field ionization of xenon atoms driven by bright squeezed vacuum (BSV) with average pulse energy up to 10 \textmu J. We show that, as a nonclassical state with zero mean field and strong intensity fluctuations, BSV selectively enhances the spider-like holographic structures in the photoelectron momentum distributions. Using a quantum-light-corrected quantum-trajectory Monte Carlo (q-QTMC) model, we attribute this effect to the intrinsic coherence of trajectory pairs emitted within the same subcycle field fluctuation. These dynamically correlated paths exhibit enhanced phase stability and remain robust against dephasing, whereas asynchronous paths are filtered out by field noise. Our results reveal a quantum-fluctuation-induced mechanism for coherence protection in strong-field processes, positioning BSV as an effective coherence filter and establishing a new regime of quantum-enabled noise-resilient ultrafast dynamics.
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Abstract We theoretically investigate the nonlinear spectral broadening of bright squeezed vacuum (BSV) driven by Kerr nonlinearity in bulk sapphire and demonstrate a route toward generating ultrafast broadband BSV-based light. By analyzing the spectral evolution and frequency correlations during nonlinear propagation, we show that the intrinsic photon-number fluctuations sampled from the BSV input significantly enhance ensemble-averaged spectral broadening compared with coherent pulses of the same mean intensity. Quantum statistics enter through Husimi-Q sampling of the incident squeezed-vacuum state, whereas each realization is subsequently propagated as a semiclassical complex envelope. The generated broadband field exhibits strong photon-number and intensity correlations across a wide spectral range together with excellent temporal compressibility. After a common dispersion compensation, the source supports single-shot pulse durations ranging from approximately 7 fs to 70 fs. This work combines ultrafast temporal characteristics with quantum-originated input statistics in a single optical platform and may provide new opportunities for strong-field quantum optics, including high-harmonic generation and attosecond science.
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Abstract Attosecond quantum light, formed by the superposition of high-order harmonics driven by intense quantum light, opens new routes to probe quantum-mechanical correlations in matter. In this study, we have investigated the macroscopic propagation effects of quantum high-order harmonics generated by the combination of strong coherent and weak bright squeezed vacuum (BSV) lasers interacting with atomic gas. Our results reveal that the pressure-dependent intensity of harmonics arising from absorbing or emitting BSV photons differs from that of harmonics generated using only strong coherent pulses. Macroscopic propagation simulations indicate that the action phase of harmonics is perturbed by the weak BSV pulses. This perturbation modulates the phase mismatch of sub-cycle attosecond bursts and affects their quantum properties when the gas pressure varies. The ability to generate bright quantum high-order harmonics lays a foundation for the establishment and application of attosecond quantum spectroscopy.
The generation and control of extreme ultraviolet (XUV) radiation by high harmonic generation (HHG) have advanced ultrafast science, providing direct insights into electron dynamics on their natural time scale. Attosecond science has established the capability to resolve ultrafast quantum phenomena in matter by characterizing and controlling the classical properties of the high harmonics. Recent theoretical proposals have introduced novel schemes for generating and manipulating XUV HHG with distinct quantum features, paving the way to attosecond quantum optics. In this work, we transfer fundamental concepts in quantum optics into attosecond science. By driving the HHG process with a combination of an infrared bright squeezed vacuum (BSV, a non-classical state of light), and a strong coherent field, we imprint the quantum correlations of the input BSV onto both the ultrafast electron wavefunction and the harmonics' field. Performing in-situ HHG interferometry provides an insight into the underlying sub-cycle dynamics, revealing squeezing in the statistical properties of one of the most fundamental strong-field phenomena -- field induced tunneling. Our measurement allows the reconstruction of the quantum state of the harmonics through homodyne-like tomography, resolving correlated fluctuations in the harmonic field that mirror those of the input BSV. By controlling the delay between the two driving fields, we manipulate the photon statistics of the emitted attosecond pulses with sub-cycle accuracy. The ability to measure and control quantum correlations in both electrons and XUV attosecond pulses establishes a foundation for attosecond electrodynamics, manipulating the quantum state of electrons and photons with sub-cycle precision.