We discuss the evolution dynamics of a quantum system consisting of two two-level atoms separately embedded within two strongly coupled photonic crystal cavities. Although the quantum system is subjected to dissipation and decoherence from the cavity leakage and the atomic decay, it does allow for eigenstates that are not influenced by one of the two dissipation channels and results in dissipation-inhibition quantum states. These dissipation-free quantum states can help to achieve an extremely long photon and atom storage lifetime and provide a new perspective to realize efficient quantum information storage via reducing the negative influence of the dissipation from the environment.
We discuss the evolution dynamics of a quantum system consisting of two two-level atoms separately embedded within two strongly coupled photonic crystal cavities. Although the quantum system is subjected to dissipation and decoherence from the cavity leakage and the atomic decay, it does allow for eigenstates that are not influenced by one of the two dissipation channels and results in dissipation-inhibition quantum states. These dissipation-free quantum states can help to achieve an extremely long photon and atom storage lifetime and provide a new perspective to realize efficient quantum information storage via reducing the negative influence of the dissipation from the environment.
We solve exactly the dynamics of N strongly driven two-level atoms equally coupled on resonance to a dissipative cavity mode. Analytical results are derived on decoherence, entanglement, purity, atomic correlations and cavity field mean photon number. Decoherence-free subspaces are predicted for the whole system and the N -qubit subsystem. Multi-partite entangled states and cavity cat-like states can be conditionally generated. The decay of quantum coherence and purity can be monitored by joint measurements on atomic populations. Atoms prepared in states invariant under permutation of any two components evolve within the subspace spanned by the completely symmetric Dicke states. Applications to N = 3, 4 are discussed.
Confining light in open structures is a long-sought goal in nanophotonics and cavity quantum electrodynamics. Embedded eigenstates provide infinite lifetime despite the presence of available leakage channels, but in linear time-invariant systems they cannot be excited from the outside, due to reciprocity. Here, we investigate how atomic nonlinearities may support single-photon embedded eigenstates, which can be populated by a multi-photon excitation followed by internal relaxation. We calculate the system dynamics and show that photon trapping, as well as the reverse release process, can be achieved with arbitrarily high efficiencies. We also discuss the impact of loss, and a path towards the experimental verification of these concepts.
The cause of decoherence in a quantum system can be traced back to the interaction with the environment. As it has been pointed out by Dicke, in a system of N two-level atoms, where each of the atoms is individually dipole coupled to the environment, there are collective, subradiant states, that have no dipole coupling to photon modes, and therefore, they are expected to decay slower. This property also implies that these type of states decohere slower. We propose a scheme which will create such states. First, the two-level atoms are placed in a strongly detuned cavity and one of the atoms, called the control atom is excited. The time evolution of the coupled atom-cavity system leads to an appropriately entangled state of the atoms. By the aid of a suitable single-atom phase transformation, it is possible to drive the atomic state into the subradiant, i.e., decoherence-free subspace. Up to a certain average number of photons, the result is independent of the state of the cavity. The analysis of the conditions shows that this scheme is feasible with present day techniques achieved in atom-cavity interaction experiments.
We present the exact solution of the dynamics of N two-level atoms strongly driven by an external coherent field and equally coupled on resonance to a cavity mode, in the presence of both cavity dissipation and atomic decay. Analytical results are presented for system and subsystem dynamics, showing how environment-induced decoherence leads the system from pure to mixed states. In the limit of negligible atomic decay, where the system is known to exhibit decoherence-free subspaces, we present a detailed discussion of the decoherence function that can be monitored by atomic population measurements.
We demonstrate how a time-dependent dissipative environment may be used as a tool for controlling the quantum state of a two-level atom. In our model system the frequency and coupling strength associated with microscopic reservoir modes are modulated, while the principal features of the reservoir structure remain fixed in time. Physically, this may be achieved by containing a static atom-cavity system inside an oscillating external bath. We show that it is possible to dynamically decouple the atom from its environment, despite the fact that the two remain resonant at all times. This can lead to Markovian dynamics, even for a strong atom-bath coupling, as the atomic decay becomes inhibited into all but a few channels; the reservoir occupation spectrum consequently acquires a sideband structure, with peaks separated by the frequency of the environmental modulation. The reduction in the rate of spontaneous emission using this approach can be significantly greater than could be achieved with an oscillatory atom-bath detuning using the same parameters.
Confining light in open structures is a long-sought goal in nanophotonics and cavity quantum electrodynamics. Embedded eigenstates provide infinite lifetime despite the presence of available leakage channels, but in linear time-invariant systems they cannot be excited from the outside, due to reciprocity. Here, we investigate how atomic nonlinearities may support single-photon embedded eigenstates, which can be populated by a multi-photon excitation followed by internal relaxation. We calculate the system dynamics and show that photon trapping, as well as the reverse release process, can be achieved with arbitrarily high efficiencies. We also discuss the impact of loss, and a path toward the experimental verification of these concepts.