We first study effects of collective states (CS) in both superradiant and electromagnetically induced transparent (EIT) systems. For superradiance, we incorporate cooperative effects into a two-atom master equation, which results in a superradiant decay time close to the experimental data. Additionally, we identify the role of collectivity in Raman superradiance in a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC). As an application of CS to quantum information, we study the feasibility of EIT in semiconductors, a flexible multiple beam splitter for generating entangled single photons, and effect of diffusion of the stored coherence. ^ Second, we show that transverse momentum distribution may improve the phase resolution of an atomic interferometer. The improvement is due to the fact that the transit time for the transverse momentum states is a constant. ^ Third, atom and molecule currents in a Fermi gas in the neighborhood of a Feshbach resonance are studied in a one-dimensional optical ring lattice by directly diagonalizing small models. A rotational analogy of flux quantization is used to show that a fraction of the current is carried by particles with twice the mass of an atom, which suggests pairing and superfluidity of fermions. ^
We first study effects of collective states (CS) in both superradiant and electromagnetically induced transparent (EIT) systems. For superradiance, we incorporate cooperative effects into a two-atom master equation, which results in a superradiant decay time close to the experimental data. Additionally, we identify the role of collectivity in Raman superradiance in a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC). As an application of CS to quantum information, we study the feasibility of EIT in semiconductors, a flexible multiple beam splitter for generating entangled single photons, and effect of diffusion of the stored coherence. ^ Second, we show that transverse momentum distribution may improve the phase resolution of an atomic interferometer. The improvement is due to the fact that the transit time for the transverse momentum states is a constant. ^ Third, atom and molecule currents in a Fermi gas in the neighborhood of a Feshbach resonance are studied in a one-dimensional optical ring lattice by directly diagonalizing small models. A rotational analogy of flux quantization is used to show that a fraction of the current is carried by particles with twice the mass of an atom, which suggests pairing and superfluidity of fermions. ^
In this dissertation we focused on two topics: 1. atomic cooperative effect, including superradiance, subradiance and collective Lamb shift in an atomic ensemble; 2. novel topological effect in quantum optics system, such as Haldane model, synthetic magnetic field in superradiance lattice and synthetic spin-orbit interaction in Fock-state lattices. \n\nIn the first part, we start from the Dicke state, an N-particle atomic ensemble excited by a single photon. Due to the interaction of the atoms with a continuum of vacuum modes, the Dicke state has a larger decay rate compared with an isolated atom, termed the single photon superradiance. In the “opposite” case, the single-photon subradiance state does not decay because of the destructive interference of the atomic transitions. We study the protection of subradiant states by the symmetry of the atomic distributions in the Dicke limit, in which collective Lamb shifts cannot be neglected. We find that antisymmetric states are subradiant states for distributions with reflection symmetry. Continuous symmetry can also be used to achieve subradiance in an extended ensemble. This study is relevant to the problem of robust quantum memory with long storage time and fast readout.\n\nIn the second part, we start from introducing the concepts, methods, and models from quantum optics or condensed matter physics. They include the timed-Dicke states, electromagnetically induced transparency, coupled wave equations, tight-binding model, band theory, Floquet theory, superradiance lattice, integer quantum Hall effect, Haldane model, etc.. Based upon these tools, we study three topological quantum optics systems: (i) a Haldane model with in situ tunable topological properties in a two-dimensional momentumspace superradiance lattice composed of timed Dicke states in electromagnetically induced transparency; (ii) a spin-orbit coupled Fock-state lattice, which introduce a novel quantum operation to generate mesoscopic superposition states, e.g., the NOON states and cat states; (iii) a synthetic magnetic field created in a quasi one dimensional superradiance lattice, which is predicted to be observed in thermal vapours of alkali atoms instead of only in cold atoms (as in previous experiments). This study aims to provide a novel, highly tunable platform simulating exotic phenomena in condensed matter physics and offers a basis of topological quantum optics and novel photonic devices.
Due to its coherence properties and high optical depth, a Bose–Einstein condensate [BEC] provides an ideal setting to investigate collective atom-light interactions. Superradiant light scattering [SLS] in a BEC is a fascinating example of such an interaction. It is an analogous process to Dicke superradiance, in which an electronically inverted sample decays collectively, leading to the emission of one or more light pulses in a well-defined direction. Through time-resolved measurements of the superradiant light pulses emitted by an end-pumped BEC, we study the close connection of SLS with Dicke superradiance. A 1D model of the system yields good agreement with the experimental data and shows that the dynamics result from the structures that build up in the light and matter-wave fields along the BEC. This paves the way for exploiting the atom–photon correlations generated by the superradiance.
When atoms are coupled to a common electromagnetic environment, the exchange of photons through dipole-dipole interactions leads to the emergence of cooperative effects. As a particular example, superradiance arises from spontaneous emission when this exchange leads to constructive interference of the emitted photons. Here, we introduce an integrated method for studying cooperative radiation in many-body systems. This method, which allows to study extended systems with arbitrarily large number of particles, can be formulated by an effective, nonlinear, two-atom master equation that describes the dynamics using a closed form which treats single- and many-body terms on an equal footing. We apply this method to a homogeneous gas of initially inverted two-level atoms, and demonstrate the appearance of both superradiance and subradiance, identifying a many-body coherence term as the source of these cooperative effects. We describe the many-body induced broadening -- which is analytically found to scale with the optical depth of the system -- and light shifts, and distinguish spontaneous effects from induced ones. In addition, we theoretically predict the time-dependence of subradiance, and the phase change of the radiated field during the cooperative decay.
Recent experiments have demonstrated superradiant Raman scattering from a Bose-Einstein condensate driven by a single off-resonant laser beam. We present a quantum theory describing this phenomenon, showing Raman amplification of matter wave due to collective atomic recoil from 3-level atoms in a $\ensuremath{\Lambda}$-configuration. When atoms are initially in a single lower internal state, a closed two-level system is realized between atoms with different internal states, and entangled atom-photon pairs can be generated. When atoms are initially prepared in both the lower internal states, a fraction of atoms recoiling in the backward direction can be generated.
The interaction between light and matter has captivated physicists for centuries, from early studies of vision and refraction in ancient Greece to the development of quantum mechanics and quantum electrodynamics in the past century. While the response of a single quantum emitter to light is well understood, the radiative properties of an ensemble of closely spaced emitters are far more intricate. Coupling to a shared electromagnetic environment induces coherent and dissipative interactions between emitters, giving rise to a collective response that cannot be captured by treating them independently. In the regime of few excitations, the system hosts delocalized subradiant states, that is, coherent superpositions that are largely decoupled from the electromagnetic field and thus decay at suppressed rates. While this weak coupling makes subradiant states attractive for quantum technologies, it also renders them difficult to manipulate. At higher excitation densities, the intrinsic nonlinearity of emitters and the exponential growth of the Hilbert space make theoretical and numerical descriptions of the system and its dynamics increasingly challenging. This thesis explores two fundamental questions: How can subradiant and dark states be selectively accessed and harnessed for practical applications in quantum technologies? And how can interacting ensembles of quantum emitters be efficiently simulated to uncover their many-body physics? The first part of the thesis develops protocols for controlling and addressing dark states in free-space and waveguide-coupled atomic arrays, demonstrating their utility in quantum storage and the deterministic generation of entangled photonic states. Incorporating atomic motion, we further show that collective subradiant states can enhance cooling in dense atomic arrays, offering new avenues for controlling motional dynamics. In the second part, we introduce cumulant expansions of the equations of motion as a powerful tool to analytically and numerically investigate collective decay in the many-body regime. We first examine the collective decay of fully excited atomic arrays in free space, characterizing the onset and scaling of the superradiant burst across different geometries. In collaboration with experiments on ultracold erbium atoms in optical lattices, we provide the first direct observations of many-body collective effects in free-space ordered arrays, including early-time superradiant bursts, late-time subradiant tails, and the emergence of atomic correlations throughout the dynamics. Finally, we theoretically and numerically explore the transient formation of multi-excitation subradiant states, and demonstrate how the existence of multiple dissipation channels suppresses steady-state superradiance in extended arrays.
This thesis summarizes work on the theory of many-body effects in atomic systems. The modification of emission rates and spectra for a single impurity atom embedded in a many-body system is studied. In addition, the physics of two, cold atom systems is investigated. We first study the spontaneous decay of a source atom inside a dielectric. In a microscopic picture, the photon radiated by the source atom is scattered by the medium atoms. This scattered photon is absorbed by the source atom, which results in a modification of the atom's decay rate. The calculation is carried out to second order in the medium density and we find a result that differs from the one obtained in macroscopic calculations. Using the same microscopic model, we carry out a microscopic calculation for the recoil momentum acquired by a radiating atom in a medium. In our microscopic calculation, the average value of the photon momentum is modified by its scattering with the source atoms. This gives a modification to the recoil momentum of the source atom. The calculated correction agrees with the experimental observations. In the second part of the thesis, we study two, ultra-cold atomic systems. An exactly solvable model, a Tonks-Girardeau gas with a local potential, is explain first. Such a one dimensional quantum gas has been realized recently. The spectrum of the single particle density matrix is evaluated exactly. We find the "condensate density" as a function of the potential strength. We also propose to use time-of-flight imaging to detect experimental observables. The possibility of modulating the interaction strength in space using a Feshbach resonance in a degenerate Fermi gas is examined in the last part of the thesis. Using a periodic modulation, we find that the ground state of the system contains Cooper pairs with non-zero center-of-mass momenta. The resultant single particle spectrum is found to have an additional gap along particular directions. We propose experimental schemes to detect properties of both the ground state and the quasi-particle excitations.