Quantum Transport and Emergence of Superradiant States

C. M. Bowden, F. P. Mattar

G. Chen, Z.-D. Chen, Pei-cai Xuan

Jonah S. Peter, Stefan Ostermann, Susanne F. Yelin

Chirality, or handedness, is a geometrical property denoting a lack of mirror symmetry. Chirality is ubiquitous in nature and is associated with the nonreciprocal interactions observed in complex systems ranging from biomolecules to topological materials. Here, we demonstrate that chiral arrangements of dipole-coupled atoms or molecules can facilitate the helicity-dependent superradiant emission of light. We show that the collective modes of these systems experience an emergent spin-orbit coupling that leads to chirality-dependent photon transport and nontrivial topological properties. These phenomena are fully described within the electric dipole approximation, resulting in very strong optical responses. Our results demonstrate an intimate connection between chirality, superradiance, and photon helicity and provide a comprehensive framework for studying electron transport dynamics in chiral molecules using cold atom quantum simulators. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

F. T. Arecchi, D.M. Kim, I. W. Smith

Lei Qiao, Ya-Ju Song, P. Z. Zhao

Abstract As a crucial role in various aspects of quantum transport, quantum pumping usually refers to the controlled movement of particles through external manipulation. This work reports a unique occurrence of self-organized quantum pumping for photons without any external driving in a spin–cavity system, where an assemble of quantum emitters interact with photonic modes confined in two tunneling-coupled cavities. Specifically, undermirror-symmetry breaking of cavity dissipations and spin–cavity coupling strengths, a steady photon current spontaneously emerges between the two cavities when the system reaches its superradiant phase. Investigation shows that cavity dissipation, which acts as a pump, assists the system to sustainably extract photons from the surroundings and generate a superradiant photon current with photon loss via dissipation channels. Generating with Z 2 spontaneous symmetry breaking, this kind of counter-intuitive photon current provides a spontaneous regime for the occurrence of current in real space.

Giovanni Ferioli