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arXiv:2606.14949 · Physical Review A

Initiation of Superradiance from Different Collective Spin States

Adnan Alabbar, Zhenghao Zhang, Girish S. Agarwal

quant-phphysics.opticsSubmitted Jun 12, 2026• Announced Jun 16, 2026• 0 citations
v1 · Jun 12, 2026v2 · Aug 17, 2026
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Abstract

Superradiance is an extensive cooperative spontaneous emission phenomenon. Some atomic collective spin states exhibit it. However, distinct initial states differ in their decay dynamics. Dicke states with different numbers of excitations have their peak emission intensity shifted in time depending on the number of excitations. Emission intensity in atomic coherent states depends on their polarization. Some specific states undergo a squeezing controlled crossover, making the emission character dependent on the amount of squeezing in the state. We present detailed results on the superradiant dynamics of a representative selection of Dicke states. For large N, we are able to predict fairly accurately the pulse profile in each case using the mean field approximation, an approach based on the Fokker Planck Equation. We also present results on the intensity correlation function of the emission.

DOI
10.1103/vrsw-rfwl
Comments
15 pages, 16 figures

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Superradiance is an extensive cooperative spontaneous emission phenomenon. Some atomic collective spin states exhibit it. However, distinct initial states differ in their decay dynamics. Dicke states with different numbers of excitations have their peak emission intensity shifted in time depending on the number of excitations. Emission intensity in atomic coherent states depends on their polarization. Some specific states undergo a squeezing controlled crossover, making the emission character dependent on the amount of squeezing in the state. We present detailed results on the superradiant dynamics of a representative selection of Dicke states. For large N, we are able to predict fairly accurately the pulse profile in each case using the mean field approximation, an approach based on the Fokker Planck Equation. We also present results on the intensity correlation function of the emission.
Fully-excited two-level atoms separated by less than the transition wavelength cooperatively emit light in a short burst, a phenomenon called superradiance by R. Dicke in 1954. The burst is characterized by a maximum intensity scaling with the square of the number of atoms NNN and a temporal width reduced by NNN compared to the single atom spontaneous decay time. Both effects are usually attributed to a synchronization of the electric dipole moments of the atoms occurring during the process of light emission. Contrary to this explanation, it was recently shown by use of a quantum path description that the peak intensity results from the quantum correlations among the atoms when occupying symmetric Dicke states. Here we investigate from this perspective the temporal evolution of the ensemble, starting in the small sample limit, i.e., when the atoms have mutual separations much smaller than the transition wavelength λλλ and pass down the ladder of symmetric Dicke states. In addition, we explore the temporal evolution for the case of non-interacting atoms with mutual separations much larger than λλλ. We show that in this case a similar superradiant burst of the emitted radiation is observed if the quantum correlations of the atoms are generated by conditional photon measurements retaining the atomic ensemble within or close to the symmetric subspace.
Fully excited two-level atoms separated by less than the transition wavelength cooperatively emit light in a short burst, a phenomenon called superradiance by R. Dicke in 1954 [Phys. Rev. 93, 99 (1954)]. The burst is characterized by a maximum intensity scaling with the square of the number of atoms NNN and a temporal width reduced by NNN compared to the single atom spontaneous decay time. Both effects are usually attributed to a synchronization of the electric dipole moments of the atoms occurring during the process of light emission. Contrary to this explanation, it was recently shown by use of a quantum path description that the peak intensity results from the quantum correlations among the atoms when occupying symmetric Dicke states. Here we investigate from this perspective the temporal evolution of the ensemble, starting in the small sample limit, i.e., when the atoms have mutual separations much smaller than the transition wavelength $\ensuremath{\lambda}$ and pass down the ladder of symmetric Dicke states. In addition, we explore the temporal evolution for the case of distant noninteracting atoms with mutual separations much larger than $\ensuremath{\lambda}$. We show that in this case a similar superradiant burst of the emitted radiation is observed if the quantum correlations of the atoms are generated by conditional photon measurements retaining the atomic ensemble within or close to the symmetric subspace.
We study the quantum statistics of single-mode radiation emitted by an atomic ensemble when the ensemble is initially prepared in a superradiant Dicke state. We show that while the radiation is well approximated by the Glauber coherent state at early times in the evolution, the emission can be truly quantum at later times. In particular, one can observe a large amount of photon-number squeezing in the emission under certain conditions; even a Fock state can be produced. We discuss the quantum statistics of the emission for various parameters, including different initial conditions for the atomic ensemble. To obtain these results, we have developed a formalism where we are able to calculate the quantum statistics of the emission over long time scales even when the number of atoms in the ensemble is quite large.
We study the collective spontaneous emission of a linear atomic chain excited by a single photon. The interaction between the atoms and the common vacuum field can significantly change the eigenenergy and the spontaneous emission rate of the system. Due to the dipole-dipole interactions, the system prepared in a single-photon timed Dicke state is the superposition of superradiant and subradiant eigenstates that can have a nonexponential decay dynamics. We can tune the frequency and linewidth of the superradiant and subradiant emission from a timed Dicke state by changing the direction of the atomic dipole moment or the atomic separation. In addition, the emission direction of the superradiant and subradiant photons also depends on the polarization of the atoms.
Superradiance, i.e., spontaneous emission of coherent radiation by an ensemble of two-level atoms in collective states introduced by Dicke in 1954, is one of the enigmatic problems of quantum optics. The startling gist is that even though the atoms have no dipole moment they radiate with increased intensity in particular directions. Following the advances in our understanding of superradiant emission by atoms in entangled W-states we examine the quantum statistical properties of superradiance. Such investigations require the system to have at least two excitations in order to explore the photon-photon correlations of the radiation emitted by such states. We present specifically results for the spatially resolved photon-photon correlations of systems prepared in doubly excited W-states and give conditions when the atomic system emits nonclassial light. Equally, we derive the conditions for the occurrence of bunching and even of superbunching, a rare phenomenon otherwise known only from nonclassical states of light like the squeezed vacuum. We finally investigate the photon-photon cross correlations of the spontaneously scattered light and highlight the nonclassicalty of such correlations. The theoretical findings can be implemented with current technology, e.g., using ions in a linear rf-trap, atoms in an optical lattice or quantum dots in a cavity.
Dicke superradiance is an example of emergence of macroscopic quantum coherence via correlated dissipation. Starting from an initially incoherent state, a collection of excited atoms synchronizes as they decay, generating a macroscopic dipole moment and emitting a short and intense pulse of light. While well understood in cavities, superradiance remains an open problem in extended systems due to the exponential growth of complexity with atom number. Here we show that Dicke superradiance is a universal phenomenon in ordered arrays. We present a theoretical framework - which circumvents the exponential complexity of the problem - that allows us to predict the critical distance beyond which Dicke superradiance disappears. This critical distance is highly dependent on the dimensionality and atom number. Our predictions can be tested in state of the art experiments with arrays of neutral atoms, molecules, and solid-state emitters and pave the way towards understanding the role of many-body decay in quantum simulation, metrology, and lasing.