Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

Optics Letters

Resolving ambiguities of the mode truncation in cavity quantum electrodynamics

Michael A. D. Taylor, Arkajit Mandal, Pengfei Huo

Published Feb 3, 2022• 23 citations
Publisher

Abstract

This work provides the fundamental theoretical framework for few-mode cavity quantum electrodynamics by resolving the gauge ambiguities between the Coulomb gauge and the dipole gauge Hamiltonians under the photonic mode truncation. We first propose a general framework to resolve ambiguities for an arbitrary truncation in a given gauge. Then, we specifically consider the case of mode truncation, deriving gauge invariant expressions for both the Coulomb and dipole gauge Hamiltonians that naturally reduce to the commonly used single-mode Hamiltonians when considering a single-mode truncation. We finally provide the analytical and numerical results of both atomic and molecular model systems coupled to the cavity to demonstrate the validity of our theory.

DOI
10.1364/ol.450228

Related papers

Resolution of Gauge Ambiguities in Molecular Cavity Quantum Electrodynamics

Michael A. D. Taylor, Arkajit Mandal, Wang-Huai Zhou +1 more

This work provides the fundamental theoretical framework for molecular cavity quantum electrodynamics by resolving the gauge ambiguities between the Coulomb gauge and the dipole gauge Hamiltonians under the electronic state truncation. We conjecture that such ambiguity arises because not all operators are consistently constrained in the same truncated electronic subspace for both gauges. We resolve this ambiguity by constructing a unitary transformation operator that properly constrains all light-matter interaction terms in the same subspace. We further derive an equivalent and yet convenient expression for the Coulomb gauge Hamiltonian under the truncated subspace. We finally provide the analytical and numerical results of a model molecular system coupled to the cavity to demonstrate the validity of our theory.

arXiv:2006.03191•Physical Review Letters•Sep 17, 2020•92 citations

Resolution of Gauge Ambiguities in Cavity Quantum Electrodynamics

Michael A. D. Taylor, Arkajit Mandal, Pengfei Huo

We present the fundamental theoretical framework for cavity Quantum Electrodynamics in truncated Hilbert spaces by resolving the gauge ambiguities between the Coulomb gauge and the dipole gauge Hamiltonians under both photonic mode and matter truncation.

Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics•Jan 1, 2022•0 citations

Gauge-invariant theory of truncated quantum light-matter interactions in arbitrary media

Chris Gustin, Sebastian Franke, Stephen Hughes

The loss of gauge invariance in models of light-matter interaction which arises from material and photonic space truncation can pose significant challenges to conventional quantum optical models when matter and light strongly hybridize. In structured photonic environments, necessary in practice to achieve strong light-matter coupling, a rigorous model of field quantization within the medium is also needed. Here we use the framework of macroscopic QED by quantizing the fields in an arbitrary material system, with a spatially dependent dispersive and absorptive dielectric, starting from a fundamental light-matter action. We truncate the material and mode degrees of freedom while respecting the gauge principle by imposing a partial gauge-fixing constraint during canonical quantization, which admits a large number of gauges including the Coulomb and multipolar gauges commonly used in quantum optics. We also consider gauge conditions with explicit time dependence, enabling us to unambiguously introduce additional phenomenologically time-dependent light-matter interactions in any gauge. Our results allow one to derive rigorous nonrelativistic models of ultrastrong light-matter interactions in structured photonic environments with no gauge ambiguity. Results for two-level systems and the dipole approximation are discussed, as well as how to go beyond the dipole approximation for effective single-particle models. By comparing with the limiting case of an inhomogeneous dielectric, where dispersion and absorption can be neglected and the fields can be expanded in terms of the generalized transverse eigenfunctions of the dielectric, we show how lossy systems can introduce an additional gauge ambiguity, which we resolve and predict to have fundamental implications for open quantum system models. Finally, we show how observables in mode-truncated systems can be calculated without ambiguity by using a simple gauge-invariant model of photodetection.

arXiv:2208.11796•Physical Review A•Jan 27, 2023•20 citations

Gauge-Independent Emission Spectra and Quantum Correlations in the Ultrastrong Coupling Regime of Cavity-QED

Will Salmon, Chris Gustin, Alessio Settineri +5 more

A quantum dipole interacting with an optical cavity is one of the key models in cavity quantum electrodynamics (cavity-QED). To treat this system theoretically, the typical approach is to truncate the dipole to two levels. However, it has been shown that in the ultrastrong-coupling regime, this truncation naively destroys gauge invariance. By truncating in a manner consistent with the gauge principle, we introduce master equations to compute gauge-invariant emission spectra and quantum correlation functions which show significant disagreement with previous results obtained using the standard quantum Rabi model, with quantitative differences already present in the strong coupling regime. Explicit examples are shown using both the dipole gauge and the Coulomb gauge.

•Feb 24, 2021•1 citation

Gauge‐independent emission spectra and quantum correlations in the ultrastrong coupling regime of open system cavity‐QED

Will Salmon, Chris Gustin, Alessio Settineri +5 more

A quantum dipole interacting with an optical cavity is one of the key models in cavity quantum electrodynamics (cavity-QED). To treat this system theoretically, the typical approach is to truncate the dipole to two levels. However, it has been shown that in the ultrastrong-coupling regime, this truncation naively destroys gauge invariance. By truncating in a manner consistent with the gauge principle, we introduce master equations for open systems to compute gauge-invariant emission spectra, photon flux rates, and quantum correlation functions which show significant disagreement with previous results obtained using the standard quantum Rabi model. Explicit examples are shown using both the dipole gauge and the Coulomb gauge.

arXiv:2102.12055•Nanophotonics•Mar 1, 2022•37 citations

Matrix product states and numerical mode decomposition for the analysis of gauge-invariant cavity quantum electrodynamics

Christopher Jayun Ryu, Dong-Yeop Na, Weng Cho Chew

There has been a problem of gauge ambiguities with the Rabi Hamiltonian due to the fact that it can be derived from two formally different but physically equivalent fundamental Hamiltonians. This problem has recently been resolved for models with a single quantized electromagnetic mode. In this paper, we mathematically and numerically verify this for multimode models. With this established, we combine the numerical methods, matrix product states (MPS) and numerical mode decomposition (NMD), for analyzing cavity QED systems. The MPS method is used to efficiently represent and time evolve a quantum state. However, since the coupling structure of the Rabi Hamiltonian is incompatible with MPS, it is numerically transformed into an equivalent Hamiltonian that has a chain coupling structure, which allows efficient application of MPS. The technique of NMD is used to extract the numerical electromagnetic modes of an arbitrary environment. As a proof of concept, this combined approach is demonstrated by analyzing one-dimensional cavity QED systems in various settings.

arXiv:2212.01935•Physical Review A•Jun 20, 2023•9 citations
This work provides the fundamental theoretical framework for few-mode cavity quantum electrodynamics by resolving the gauge ambiguities between the Coulomb gauge and the dipole gauge Hamiltonians under the photonic mode truncation. We first propose a general framework to resolve ambiguities for an arbitrary truncation in a given gauge. Then, we specifically consider the case of mode truncation, deriving gauge invariant expressions for both the Coulomb and dipole gauge Hamiltonians that naturally reduce to the commonly used single-mode Hamiltonians when considering a single-mode truncation. We finally provide the analytical and numerical results of both atomic and molecular model systems coupled to the cavity to demonstrate the validity of our theory.
This work provides the fundamental theoretical framework for molecular cavity quantum electrodynamics by resolving the gauge ambiguities between the Coulomb gauge and the dipole gauge Hamiltonians under the electronic state truncation. We conjecture that such ambiguity arises because not all operators are consistently constrained in the same truncated electronic subspace for both gauges. We resolve this ambiguity by constructing a unitary transformation operator that properly constrains all light-matter interaction terms in the same subspace. We further derive an equivalent and yet convenient expression for the Coulomb gauge Hamiltonian under the truncated subspace. We finally provide the analytical and numerical results of a model molecular system coupled to the cavity to demonstrate the validity of our theory.
The loss of gauge invariance in models of light-matter interaction which arises from material and photonic space truncation can pose significant challenges to conventional quantum optical models when matter and light strongly hybridize. In structured photonic environments, necessary in practice to achieve strong light-matter coupling, a rigorous model of field quantization within the medium is also needed. Here we use the framework of macroscopic QED by quantizing the fields in an arbitrary material system, with a spatially dependent dispersive and absorptive dielectric, starting from a fundamental light-matter action. We truncate the material and mode degrees of freedom while respecting the gauge principle by imposing a partial gauge-fixing constraint during canonical quantization, which admits a large number of gauges including the Coulomb and multipolar gauges commonly used in quantum optics. We also consider gauge conditions with explicit time dependence, enabling us to unambiguously introduce additional phenomenologically time-dependent light-matter interactions in any gauge. Our results allow one to derive rigorous nonrelativistic models of ultrastrong light-matter interactions in structured photonic environments with no gauge ambiguity. Results for two-level systems and the dipole approximation are discussed, as well as how to go beyond the dipole approximation for effective single-particle models. By comparing with the limiting case of an inhomogeneous dielectric, where dispersion and absorption can be neglected and the fields can be expanded in terms of the generalized transverse eigenfunctions of the dielectric, we show how lossy systems can introduce an additional gauge ambiguity, which we resolve and predict to have fundamental implications for open quantum system models. Finally, we show how observables in mode-truncated systems can be calculated without ambiguity by using a simple gauge-invariant model of photodetection.
A quantum dipole interacting with an optical cavity is one of the key models in cavity quantum electrodynamics (cavity-QED). To treat this system theoretically, the typical approach is to truncate the dipole to two levels. However, it has been shown that in the ultrastrong-coupling regime, this truncation naively destroys gauge invariance. By truncating in a manner consistent with the gauge principle, we introduce master equations to compute gauge-invariant emission spectra and quantum correlation functions which show significant disagreement with previous results obtained using the standard quantum Rabi model, with quantitative differences already present in the strong coupling regime. Explicit examples are shown using both the dipole gauge and the Coulomb gauge.
A quantum dipole interacting with an optical cavity is one of the key models in cavity quantum electrodynamics (cavity-QED). To treat this system theoretically, the typical approach is to truncate the dipole to two levels. However, it has been shown that in the ultrastrong-coupling regime, this truncation naively destroys gauge invariance. By truncating in a manner consistent with the gauge principle, we introduce master equations for open systems to compute gauge-invariant emission spectra, photon flux rates, and quantum correlation functions which show significant disagreement with previous results obtained using the standard quantum Rabi model. Explicit examples are shown using both the dipole gauge and the Coulomb gauge.
There has been a problem of gauge ambiguities with the Rabi Hamiltonian due to the fact that it can be derived from two formally different but physically equivalent fundamental Hamiltonians. This problem has recently been resolved for models with a single quantized electromagnetic mode. In this paper, we mathematically and numerically verify this for multimode models. With this established, we combine the numerical methods, matrix product states (MPS) and numerical mode decomposition (NMD), for analyzing cavity QED systems. The MPS method is used to efficiently represent and time evolve a quantum state. However, since the coupling structure of the Rabi Hamiltonian is incompatible with MPS, it is numerically transformed into an equivalent Hamiltonian that has a chain coupling structure, which allows efficient application of MPS. The technique of NMD is used to extract the numerical electromagnetic modes of an arbitrary environment. As a proof of concept, this combined approach is demonstrated by analyzing one-dimensional cavity QED systems in various settings.