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Distant emitters in ultrastrong waveguide-QED: ground sate properties and non-Markovian dynamics

Carlos A. González-Gutiérrez, Juan Román-Roche, David Zueco

Published Jun 5, 2021• 0 citations
OpenAlex

Abstract

Starting from the paradigmatic spin-boson model (SBM), we investigate the static and dynamical properties of a system of two distant two-level emitters coupled to a one-dimensional Ohmic waveguide beyond the rotating wave approximation (RWA). Employing static and dynamical polaron ansatze we study the effects of finite separation distance on the behavior of the photon-mediated Ising-like interaction, qubit frequency renormalization, ground state magnetization, and entanglement entropy of the two qubit system. Based on previous works we derive an effective approximate Hamiltonian for the two-impurity SBM that preserves the excitation-number and thus facilitates the analytical treatment. In particular, it allows us to introduce non-Markovianity arising from delay-feedback effects in two distant emitters in the so-called ultrastrong coupling (USC) regime. We test our results with numerical simulations performed over a discretized circuit-QED model, finding perfect agreement with previous results, and showing interesting new dynamical effects arising in ultrastrong waveguide-QED with distant emitters. In particular, we revisit the Fermi two-atom problem showing that, in the USC regime, initial correlations yield two different evolutions for symmetric and antisymmetric states even before the emitters become causally connected. Finally, we demonstrate that the collective dynamics, e.g., superradiance or subradiance, are affected not only by the distance between emitters, but also on the coupling, due to significant frequency renormalization. This constitutes another dynamical consequence of the USC regime.

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Starting from the paradigmatic spin-boson model (SBM), we investigate the static and dynamical properties of a system of two distant two-level emitters coupled to a one-dimensional Ohmic waveguide beyond the rotating wave approximation (RWA). Employing static and dynamical polaron ansatze we study the effects of finite separation distance on the behavior of the photon-mediated Ising-like interaction, qubit frequency renormalization, ground state magnetization, and entanglement entropy of the two qubit system. Based on previous works we derive an effective approximate Hamiltonian for the two-impurity SBM that preserves the excitation-number and thus facilitates the analytical treatment. In particular, it allows us to introduce non-Markovianity arising from delay-feedback effects in two distant emitters in the so-called ultrastrong coupling (USC) regime. We test our results with numerical simulations performed over a discretized circuit-QED model, finding perfect agreement with previous results, and showing interesting new dynamical effects arising in ultrastrong waveguide-QED with distant emitters. In particular, we revisit the Fermi two-atom problem showing that, in the USC regime, initial correlations yield two different evolutions for symmetric and antisymmetric states even before the emitters become causally connected. Finally, we demonstrate that the collective dynamics, e.g., superradiance or subradiance, are affected not only by the distance between emitters, but also on the coupling, due to significant frequency renormalization. This constitutes another dynamical consequence of the USC regime.
Starting from the paradigmatic spin-boson model (SBM), we investigate the static and dynamical properties of a system of two distant two-level emitters coupled to a one-dimensional Ohmic waveguide beyond the rotating wave approximation. Employing static and dynamical polaron Ans\"atze we study the effects of finite separation distance on the behavior of the photon-mediated Ising-like interaction, qubit frequency renormalization, ground-state magnetization, and entanglement entropy of the two-qubit system. Based on previous works we derive an effective approximate Hamiltonian for the two-impurity SBM that preserves the excitation-number and thus facilitates the analytical treatment. In particular, it allows us to introduce non-Markovianity arising from delay-feedback effects in two distant emitters in the so-called ultrastrong coupling (USC) regime. We test our results with numerical simulations performed over a discretized circuit-QED model, finding perfect agreement with previous results, and showing interesting dynamical effects arising in ultrastrong waveguide QED with distant emitters. In particular, we revisit the Fermi two-atom problem showing that, in the USC regime, initial correlations yield two different evolutions for symmetric and antisymmetric states even before the emitters become causally connected. Finally, we demonstrate that the collective dynamics, e.g., superradiance or subradiance, are affected not only by the distance between emitters, but also by the coupling, due to significant frequency renormalization. This constitutes another dynamical consequence of the USC regime.
Quantum optics with giant emitters has shown a new route for the observation and manipulation of non-Markovian properties in waveguide QED. In this paper we extend the theory of giant atoms, hitherto restricted to the perturbative light-matter regime, to deal with the ultrastrong-coupling regime. Using static and dynamical polaron methods, we address the low-energy subspace of a giant atom coupled to an Ohmic waveguide beyond the standard rotating-wave approximation. We analyze the equilibrium properties of the system by computing the atomic frequency renormalization as a function of the coupling characterizing the localization-delocalization quantum phase transition for a giant atom. We show that virtual photons dressing the ground state are nonexponentially localized around the contact points but decay as a power law. The dynamics of an initially excited giant atom is studied, pointing out the effects of ultrastrong coupling on the Lamb shift and the spontaneous emission decay rate. Finally, we comment on the existence of the so-called oscillating bound states beyond the rotating-wave approximation.
We discuss the properties of bound states in finite-bandwidth waveguide QED beyond the rotating wave approximation or excitation-number-conserving light-matter coupling models. Therefore, we extend the standard calculations to a broader range of light-matter strengths, in particular, in the so-called ultrastrong coupling regime. We do this using the polaron technique. Our main results are as follows: We compute the spontaneous emission rate, which is renormalized as compared with the Fermi golden rule formula. We generalize the existence criteria for bound states, their properties, and their role in the qubit thermalization. We discuss effective spin-spin interactions through both vacuum fluctuations and bound states. Finally, we sketch a perfect state-transfer protocol among distant emitters mediated by bound states.
Waveguides allow for direct coupling of emitters separated by large distances, offering a path to connect remote quantum systems. However, when facing the distances needed for practical applications, retardation effects due to the finite speed of light are often overlooked. Previous works studied the non-Markovian dynamics of emitters with retardation, but the properties of the radiated field remain mostly unexplored. By considering a toy model of two distant two-level atoms coupled through a waveguide, we study the spectrum of the radiated field that exhibits non-Markovian features such as linewidth broadening beyond standard superradiance, or narrow Fano-resonance-like peaks. We also observe modifications to the energy-exchange dynamics in the presence of retardation. We discuss a proof-of-concept implementation of our results in a superconducting circuit platform.
In this work we develop a semianalytical variational Ansatz to study the properties of few-photon excitations interacting with a collection of quantum emitters in regimes that go beyond the rotating-wave approximation. This method can be used to approximate both the static and dynamical properties of a superconducting qubit in an open transmission line, including the spontaneous emission spectrum and the resonances in scattering experiments. The approximations are quantitatively accurate for rather strong couplings, as shown by a direct comparison to matrix-product-state numerical methods, and provide also a good qualitative description for stronger couplings well beyond the Markovian regime.
Abstract This work introduces a theoretical framework to model the collective dynamics of quantum emitters in highly non-Markovian environments, interacting through the exchange of photons with significant retardations. The formalism consists on a set of coupled delay differential equations for the emitter’s raising/lowering operators σ i ± , supplemented by input–output relations that describe the field mediating the interactions. These equations capture the dynamics of both linear (bosonic) and nonlinear (two-level) emitter arrays. It is exact in some limits—e.g. bosonic emitters or generic systems with up to one collective excitation—and can be integrated to provide accurate results for larger numbers of photons. These equations support a study of collective spontaneous emission of emitter arrays in open waveguide-QED environments. This study uncovers an effect we term cascaded super- and sub-radiance, characterized by light-cone-limited propagation and increasingly correlated photon emission across distant emitters. The collective nature of this dynamics for two-level systems is evident both in the enhancement of collective emission rates, as well as in a superradiant burst with a faster than linear growth. While these effects should be observable in existing circuit QED devices or slight generalizations thereof, the formalism put forward in this work can be extended to model other systems such as network of quantum emitters or the generation of correlated photon states.