Optical bistability for single-photon excitation by a random field

Iu. S. Oseledchik

Asian Selvakumaran, Anna Minguzzi, Iacopo Carusotto +1 more

We theoretically investigate the response of a coherently-driven nonlinear optical cavity to an additional incident single photon. Using a quantum description of the nonlinear dynamics that fully accounts for the quantum fluctuations of the cavity field and for the discrete nature of the incident photon, we characterize the quantum dynamics of single-photon-stimulated jumps from the low-photon-number to the high-photon-number state of the optical bistability loop. We find that the system can exhibit a giant response to this single quantum of excitation, rooted in the phase-transition picture of optical bistability. In addition to shedding light on the role of quantum fluctuations in the non-equilibrium dynamics of a nonlinear optical cavity, our results suggest a strategy for an all-optical single-photon avalanche detector.

H. Haug, S. W. Koch, R. Neumann +1 more

Игорь Евгеньевич Проценко, Alexander V. Uskov

We theoretically investigated the bistability in a small Fabry-Perot interferometer (FPI) with the optical wavelength size cavity, the nonlinear Kerr medium, and only a few photons, on average, excited by the external quantum field. Analytical expressions for the stationary mean photon number, the bistability domain, the field, and the photon number fluctuation spectra are obtained. Multiple stationary states of the FPI cavity field with different spectra are possible at realistic conditions, for example, in the FPI with the photonic crystal cavity and the semiconductor-doped glass nonlinear medium.

J.A. Hermann, J.N. Elgin

M. A. Antón, Isabel Gonzalo

Single-beam two-photon optical bistability in a two-level system where the levels have unequal electric dipole moments is analyzed theoretically. By means of unitary transformations the system is transformed into a two-level nonpolar system with a field-dependent effective transition dipole moment. Two-photon optical bistability is found to be favored as the difference between the dipole moments grows. When the excited electronic system is coupled to a vibrational normal mode of the nuclei, the susceptibility becomes three-valued and consequently a different type of optical bistability appears, which can coexists with the previous one.>