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Physical Review A

Decay of metastable excited states of two qubits in a waveguide

Elena S. Redchenko, Vladimir I. Yudson

Published Dec 22, 2014• 46 citations
Publisher

Abstract

For a system of two spatially separated qubits (two-level atoms) coupled to a one-dimensional waveguide we have described the time evolution of singly or doubly excited states of the atomic subsystem. When the interatomic distance $l$ takes special (``resonant'' or ``antiresonant'') values, the singly excited system of resonant atoms can form metastable (dark) states. If $l$ slightly deviates from one of the special values or the atomic frequencies do not coincide, the dark states slowly decay and we have calculated the decay rate. Also, we have found that the doubly excited state of two resonant atoms located at the special positions does not completely decay but, with a finite probability, can evolve (with the emission of a single photon) to one of the metastable singly excited states. Metastable states of pairs of qubits may find applications (e.g., as memory elements) in information processing or as detectors sensitive to external perturbations.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.90.063829

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For a system of two spatially separated qubits (two-level atoms) coupled to a one-dimensional waveguide we have described the time evolution of singly or doubly excited states of the atomic subsystem. When the interatomic distance lll takes special (resonant'' or antiresonant'') values, the singly excited system of resonant atoms can form metastable (dark) states. If lll slightly deviates from one of the special values or the atomic frequencies do not coincide, the dark states slowly decay and we have calculated the decay rate. Also, we have found that the doubly excited state of two resonant atoms located at the special positions does not completely decay but, with a finite probability, can evolve (with the emission of a single photon) to one of the metastable singly excited states. Metastable states of pairs of qubits may find applications (e.g., as memory elements) in information processing or as detectors sensitive to external perturbations.
The light-matter interaction effects are especially important in one-dimentional (1D) systems, where there is no spatial spreading of emitted radiation. We study Such metastable states of a singly excited pair of resonant atoms arise when the distance between the atoms takes special values We have calculated their decay rate when the interatomic distance deviates from the special values or when the transition frequencies of the two atoms do not coincide (inhomogeneous detuning). Also, we have found that the doubly excited state of two resonant atoms located at the special positions does not completely decay, but with a finite probability can evolve to one of the metastable singly-excited states. Dark states of pairs of qubits may serve as memory elements or sensitive detectors of external perturbations.
We consider a one-dimensional chain of N equidistantly spaced noninteracting qubits embedded in an open waveguide. In the frame of single-excitation subspace, we systematically study the evolution of qubits' amplitudes if the only qubit in the chain was initially excited. We show that the temporal dynamics of qubits' amplitudes crucially depend on the value of kd, where k is the wave vector, d is a distance between neighbor qubits. If kd is equal to an integer multiple of π, then the qubits are excited to a stationary level which scales as N−1. We show that in this case, it is the dark states which prevent qubits from decaying to zero even though they do not contribute to the output spectrum of photon emission. For other values of kd the excitations of qubits have the form of damping oscillations, which represent the vacuum Rabi oscillations in a multi-qubit system. In this case, the output spectrum of photon radiation is defined by a subradiant state with the smallest width.
Systems of atoms coupled to a single or a few waveguide modes provide a test-bed for physically and practically interesting interference effects. We consider the dynamics of a pair of atoms, approximated as two-level quantum emitters, coupled to a linear guided mode. In particular, we analyze the evolution of an initial state in which both atoms are excited, which is expected to decay into an asymptotic two-photon state. We investigate the lifetime of the initial configuration and the properties of the asymptotic photon correlations, and analyze the probability that the two photons are emitted in the same or in opposite directions. We find that the ratio RRR between parallel and antiparallel emission probabilities is maximal when the interatomic distance is an odd multiple of a quarter wavelength of the emitted light. In such a case, R=3R=3R=3 in the small-coupling regime.
We study the quantum dynamics of multiple two-level atoms (qubits) in a waveguide quantum electrodynamics system, with a focus on modified superradiance effects between two or four atoms with finite delay times. Using a numerically exact matrix product approach, we explore both Markovian and non-Markovian regimes, and highlight the significant influence of time-delayed feedback effects and the clear breakdown of assuming instantaneous coupling dynamics. We first show a system composed of two spatially separated qubits, prepared in a doubly excited state (both fully excited), and provide a comprehensive study of how delayed feedback influences the collective system decay rates, as well as the quantum correlations between waveguide photons, atoms, and between atom and photons. The system is then extended to include two additional qubits located next to the initial ones (four qubits in total), and we demonstrate, by manipulating the initial excitations and the time-delay effects, how long-term quantum correlations and light-matter entangled states can be established.
We study two-level systems (2LS) coupled at different points to a one-dimensional waveguide in which one end is open and the other is either open (infinite waveguide) or closed by a mirror (semi-infinite). Upon injection of two photons (corresponding to weak coherent driving), the resonance fluorescence and photon correlations are shaped by the effective qubit transition frequencies and decay rates, which are substantially modified by interference effects. In contrast to the well-known result in an infinite waveguide, photons reflected by a single 2LS coupled to a semi-infinite waveguide are initially bunched, a result that can be simply explained by stimulated emission. As the number of 2LS increases (up to 10 are considered here), rapid oscillations build up in the correlations that persist for a very long time. For instance, when the incoming photons are slightly detuned, the transmitted photons in the infinite waveguide are highly antibunched. On the other hand, upon resonant driving, incoherently reflected photons are mostly distributed within the photonic band gap and several sharp side peaks. These features can be explained by considering the poles of the single particle Green function in the Markovian regime combined with the time delay. Our calculation is not restricted to the Markovian regime, and we obtain several fully non-Markovian results. We show that a single 2LS in a semi-infinite waveguide can not be decoupled by placing it at the node of the photonic field, in contrast to recent results in the Markovian regime. Our results illustrate the complexities that ensue when several qubits are strongly coupled to a bus (the waveguide) as might happen in quantum information processing.
Abstract We investigate the quantum dynamics of two two-level atoms coupled to a one-dimensional resonator waveguide. Using the resolvent method, we obtain exact analytical solutions for the atomic evolution and photon scattering processes within the single-excitation subspace. The photonic band structure of the waveguide dictates distinctly different dynamical regimes. For atomic frequencies at the band center and small interatomic separation, the system exhibits Markovian decay and relaxes into a steady-state subradiant Bell entangled state. In contrast, near the band edge, non-Markovian dynamics dominates, leading to the formation of atom-photon bound states that mediate persistent, coherent interactions between the atoms. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the atomic detuning and separation provide effective control over singlephoton scattering, enabling a tunable quantum interface.