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Europhysics Letters (EPL)

Unveiling the relationship between optical bistability and vacuum Rabi splitting

Zhaoyang Zhang, Haixia Chen, Lei Zhang, Da Zhang, Xinghua Li, Yiqi Zhang, Yanpeng Zhang

Published Mar 1, 2017• 12 citations
Publisher

Abstract

The relationship between optical bistability (OB) and vacuum Rabi splitting is experimentally demonstrated in an atomic ensemble confined in a three-mirror optical cavity. The vacuum-induced splitting and bright states can effectively affect the bistable behaviour by manipulating multiple parameters such as atomic density and detuning. Also, we observed another kind of “∞”-shape OB by scanning the probe/cavity detuning. The study can make a contribution to better understand the OB and other dynamical behaviours in a composite atom-cavity system.

DOI
10.1209/0295-5075/117/53001

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The relationship between optical bistability (OB) and vacuum Rabi splitting is experimentally demonstrated in an atomic ensemble confined in a three-mirror optical cavity. The vacuum-induced splitting and bright states can effectively affect the bistable behaviour by manipulating multiple parameters such as atomic density and detuning. Also, we observed another kind of “∞”-shape OB by scanning the probe/cavity detuning. The study can make a contribution to better understand the OB and other dynamical behaviours in a composite atom-cavity system.
By making use of the changes in optical properties such as absorption and dispersion around the resonance generated via electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT), we theoretically and experimentally investigate a "∞"-shape optical bistability (OB) versus frequency on the probe transmission with a Λ-shape EIT window in a rubidium atomic ensemble confined in a three-mirror optical ring cavity. Compared to the traditional OB reflected by a hysteresis loop versus power, such newly demonstrated optical bistable behavior (represented by a "∞"-shape non-overlapping region) by scanning probe and cavity detuning can experience dual bistabilities and be more sensitive to the change of experimental parameters. Further, we study the relationship between vacuum Rabi splitting and the "∞"-shape OB. Such study on frequency-induced OB could effectively improve the applications related to OB such as logic-gate devices and optical information processing.
The phenomenon of "dark resonances" is a well-known concept in quantum optics and laser spectroscopy. As a general rule, interactions involving in such a "dark state" lead to multiple quantum superposition states that interact coherently and are undesirable. In this paper, two types nonlinear interaction in an atomic cavity, namely the nested and cascaded interactions, are theoretically analyzed how the dark resonances form the dark state peak to modulate the vacuum Rabi splitting (VRS) and optical bistability (OB) behavior. In both the zero- and high order modes, there are four VRS peaks generated in the nested interaction and three in the cascade interaction. Dark resonance can modulate not only the peak number of VRS, but also the OB thresholds. It is found that dark state can determine the asymmetric OB distribution of nested type and symmetric OB distribution of cascade type. Besides that, the distinctive OB thresholds in two kinds of interaction also be studied. The observations not only conceptually extend the conventional "dark resonances" phenomenon, but also opens the door for a variety of new applications in tunable all-optical switch and quantum communication.
We theoretically demonstrate the influence of dark and bright states on vacuum Rabi splitting (VRS) and optical bistability (OB) of the multi-wave-mixing (MWM) process in a collective four-level atomic-cavity coupling system. We numerically investigate the multidressed VRS and OB behavior of the zero- and high-order transmitted cavity modes of MWM signals. A further study demonstrates that VRS and self-Kerr nonlinearity OB can coexist and compete with each other in a cascade relationship, based on which we achieve the goal to control VRS and OB simultaneously through the dark state in the atomic system.
We theoretically analyze the behavior of single optical bistability (OB), double OB, and tristability (OT) in a three-level V-type atomic system confined in a unidirectional optical ring cavity. The physics behind the emergence of various bistable and tristable states, and switching from the absorptive to the dispersive characteristics, are explored. The role of probe- and control-field detunings on the input-output characteristics is probed. Further, it is found that the switching between various bistable phenomena is defined by the ratio between the absolute peak values of the parameters describing dispersion and absorption, respectively. This ratio sets a criterion for obtaining absorptive OB, OT, double OB, and dispersive OB. The role of control-field intensity and detuning as well as the cooperation parameter on the input-output characteristics are explored. Finally, a scheme is discussed to control the width of the middle branch of double OB and OT as well as single OB.
Experiments were performed on a bistable system consisting of a low finesse cavity and sodium atoms as the nonlinear medium. The atoms were excited by a dye laser system tuned to the D lines. Both ring and Fabry-Perot configurations were employed, and steady-state as well as transient behaviour was investigated. Flat mirrors of approximately 93% reflectivity were used in all experiments. With sodium vapour as the medium, experiments were performed in steady state, and a marked difference was observed in the behaviour of the Fabry-Perot cavity as compared to the ring set-up. This discrepancy could be explained when the sodium transition was modelled as a three - level lambda -type system, where the Doppler width is of the same order of magnitude as the ground state splitting. In this case the atoms with a Doppler shift close to half the ground state splitting have a major influence on the macroscopic refractive index. Extensive computer simulations were performed using this three -level model, and good qualitative agreement between experiment and theory was obtained for both types of cavity. A vacuum system containing a multiple atomic beam apparatus was constructed in order to reduce the Doppler width. Both the ring and the Fabry-Perot configuration could be set up inside the vacuum chamber.. The steady-state experiments displayed bistability when the laser intensity, laser frequency or cavity frequency were cycled. At higher atomic densities the system showed instabilities and multiple switching.
The optical bistability (OB) in the quantum dot molecules with four energy levels in a unidirectional ring cavity has been investigated. The authors find that the OB behaviour in the proposed system can be controlled by the system's different parameters such as electronic cooperation parameter, Rabi frequency of the two coupling laser field, decay rate, three frequency detuning, in which the parameters sensitivity is studied. The proposed system can be used for all optical switching and logic.