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Europhysics Letters (EPL)

Can spontaneous emission be influenced by the presence of a distant detector?

B. Crosignani, Paolo Di Porto

Published Jul 20, 1996• 5 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We show that the spontaneous-emission process could be altered by continuously monitoring the emitting system by means of a spherical counter of quantum efficiency η < 1, placed at a finite distance L . This surprising result is related neither to Zeno's effect nor to any cavity effect, but is of intrinsically quantum-mechanical non-local nature.

DOI
10.1209/epl/i1996-00549-4

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Reply to the paper “The presence of a distant detector does not seem to influence spontaneous emission” by L. C. Ryff

B. Crosignani, Paolo Di Porto

We confute the criticism contained in a paper appearing in this issue of Europhys. Lett. , in which the author claims that the main result of a series of our papers concerning the influence of a distant detector on spontaneous emission is unfounded.

Europhysics Letters (EPL)•Jul 15, 1997•2 citations

Emission quantique spontanée : modifications induites par l'environnement

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The control of the spontaneous emission of quantum emitters is of fundamental importance for the development of future quantum technologies, like quantum cryptography or quantum computing. Such applications rely on the manipulation of atoms, molecules, or "artificial" atoms, as elementary sources of light, and on the exploitation of the quantum nature of the emitted light, single photons. With the recent developments in nanofabrication techniques and nanotechnologies, the modification of the dynamics of the spontaneous emission by the environment is being investigated at the level of a few emitters, allowing for unprecedented control and manipulation of the spontaneous emission. In parallel to the experimental efforts, theoretical understanding of the fundamental interaction mechanisms between quantum emitters and their environment also becomes more and more essential.In this thesis, we tackle three different paradigms of the spontaneous emission phenomenon, all dealing with modifications of the spontaneous emission induced the environment. Firstly, we tackle the problem of monitored spontaneous emission, that is how the processus of emission is modified when the emitting system is being frequently monitored by an external observer, and which is closely related to the problem of measurementin quantum mechanics. Secondly, we consider the interaction between quantum emitters and optical resonances supported by nearby nanostructures. Finally, we study the remote interaction between quantum emitters and surfaces engraved with nanostructures which are designed and arranged in specific patterns, so-called metasurfaces.We present and deal with different formalisms to model such different situations, interfacing different fields of physics like quantum optics and nanophotonics. In each of these situations, we illustrate with realistic theoretical predictions how the spontaneous emission is modified: in the first case, how the lifetime of the quantum emitter is altered,in the second case how the frequency of the emitted photon is altered, and in the last situation how the environment may induce quantum coherence in the emitter. For each case, for provide with experimental proposals for future confirmations of these predictions, to bring a better understanding and control over these fundamental processes.

•Jul 5, 2019•0 citations
We show that the spontaneous-emission process could be altered by continuously monitoring the emitting system by means of a spherical counter of quantum efficiency η < 1, placed at a finite distance L . This surprising result is related neither to Zeno's effect nor to any cavity effect, but is of intrinsically quantum-mechanical non-local nature.
We critically study the possibility of quantum Zeno effect for indirect measurements. If the detector is prepared to detect the emitted signal from the core system, and the detector does not reflect the signal back to the core system, then we can prove the decay probability of the system is not changed by the continuous measurement of the signal and the quantum Zeno effect never takes place. This argument also applies to the quantum Zeno effect for accelerated two-level systems, unstable particle decay, etc.
We critically study the possibility of the quantum Zeno effect for indirect measurements. If the detector is prepared to detect the emitted signal from the core system, and does not reflect this signal back to the core system, then we can prove that the decay probability of the system is not changed by the continuous measurement of the signal and the quantum Zeno effect would never take place. This argument also applies to the quantum Zeno effect for accelerated two-level systems and unstable particle decays.
The control of the spontaneous emission of quantum emitters is of fundamental importance for the development of future quantum technologies, like quantum cryptography or quantum computing. Such applications rely on the manipulation of atoms, molecules, or "artificial" atoms, as elementary sources of light, and on the exploitation of the quantum nature of the emitted light, single photons. With the recent developments in nanofabrication techniques and nanotechnologies, the modification of the dynamics of the spontaneous emission by the environment is being investigated at the level of a few emitters, allowing for unprecedented control and manipulation of the spontaneous emission. In parallel to the experimental efforts, theoretical understanding of the fundamental interaction mechanisms between quantum emitters and their environment also becomes more and more essential.In this thesis, we tackle three different paradigms of the spontaneous emission phenomenon, all dealing with modifications of the spontaneous emission induced the environment. Firstly, we tackle the problem of monitored spontaneous emission, that is how the processus of emission is modified when the emitting system is being frequently monitored by an external observer, and which is closely related to the problem of measurementin quantum mechanics. Secondly, we consider the interaction between quantum emitters and optical resonances supported by nearby nanostructures. Finally, we study the remote interaction between quantum emitters and surfaces engraved with nanostructures which are designed and arranged in specific patterns, so-called metasurfaces.We present and deal with different formalisms to model such different situations, interfacing different fields of physics like quantum optics and nanophotonics. In each of these situations, we illustrate with realistic theoretical predictions how the spontaneous emission is modified: in the first case, how the lifetime of the quantum emitter is altered,in the second case how the frequency of the emitted photon is altered, and in the last situation how the environment may induce quantum coherence in the emitter. For each case, for provide with experimental proposals for future confirmations of these predictions, to bring a better understanding and control over these fundamental processes.