Collective interactions have been proposed as one avenue to improve the performance of photonic quantum technologies. We present developments in the theory of solid-state systems to model collective emissions in an array of atoms coupled to a 1D ring waveguide, focusing on the impact of array properties on collective emissions. In particular, we examine the role of correlation functions in predicting the onset of collective behaviors. We expand upon prior investigations of correlations in arrays of atoms by examining the influence of a cavity and inhomogeneous broadening on the collective behavior.
Collective interactions have been proposed as one avenue to improve the performance of photonic quantum technologies. We present developments in the theory of solid-state systems to model collective emissions in an array of atoms coupled to a 1D ring waveguide, focusing on the impact of array properties on collective emissions. In particular, we examine the role of correlation functions in predicting the onset of collective behaviors. We expand upon prior investigations of correlations in arrays of atoms by examining the influence of a cavity and inhomogeneous broadening on the collective behavior.
Abstract Collective interaction of emitter arrays has lately attracted significant attention due to its role in controlling directionality of radiation, spontaneous emission and coherence. We focus on light interactions with engineered arrays of solid-state emitters in photonic resonators. We theoretically study light interaction with an array of emitters or optical centers embedded inside a microring resonator and discuss its application in the context of solid-state photonic systems. We discuss how such arrays can be experimentally realized and how the inhomogeneous broadening of mesoscopic atomic arrays can be leveraged to study broadband collective excitations in the array.
We develop a model describing long-range atom-atom interactions in a two-dimensional periodic or a-periodic lattice of optical centers considering spectral and spatial broadening effects. Using both analytical and numerical Green's function techniques, we develop a mathematical framework to describe effective atom-atom interactions and collective behaviors in the presence of disorder. This framework is applicable to a broad range of quantum systems with arbitrary lattice geometries, including cold atoms, solid-state photonics, and superconducting platforms. The model can be used, for example, to scalably design quantum optical elements, e.g. a quantum lens, harnessing atomistic engineering (e.g. via ion implantation) of collective interactions in materials to enhance quantum properties at scale.
The interaction between light and matter has captivated physicists for centuries, from early studies of vision and refraction in ancient Greece to the development of quantum mechanics and quantum electrodynamics in the past century. While the response of a single quantum emitter to light is well understood, the radiative properties of an ensemble of closely spaced emitters are far more intricate. Coupling to a shared electromagnetic environment induces coherent and dissipative interactions between emitters, giving rise to a collective response that cannot be captured by treating them independently. In the regime of few excitations, the system hosts delocalized subradiant states, that is, coherent superpositions that are largely decoupled from the electromagnetic field and thus decay at suppressed rates. While this weak coupling makes subradiant states attractive for quantum technologies, it also renders them difficult to manipulate. At higher excitation densities, the intrinsic nonlinearity of emitters and the exponential growth of the Hilbert space make theoretical and numerical descriptions of the system and its dynamics increasingly challenging. This thesis explores two fundamental questions: How can subradiant and dark states be selectively accessed and harnessed for practical applications in quantum technologies? And how can interacting ensembles of quantum emitters be efficiently simulated to uncover their many-body physics? The first part of the thesis develops protocols for controlling and addressing dark states in free-space and waveguide-coupled atomic arrays, demonstrating their utility in quantum storage and the deterministic generation of entangled photonic states. Incorporating atomic motion, we further show that collective subradiant states can enhance cooling in dense atomic arrays, offering new avenues for controlling motional dynamics. In the second part, we introduce cumulant expansions of the equations of motion as a powerful tool to analytically and numerically investigate collective decay in the many-body regime. We first examine the collective decay of fully excited atomic arrays in free space, characterizing the onset and scaling of the superradiant burst across different geometries. In collaboration with experiments on ultracold erbium atoms in optical lattices, we provide the first direct observations of many-body collective effects in free-space ordered arrays, including early-time superradiant bursts, late-time subradiant tails, and the emergence of atomic correlations throughout the dynamics. Finally, we theoretically and numerically explore the transient formation of multi-excitation subradiant states, and demonstrate how the existence of multiple dissipation channels suppresses steady-state superradiance in extended arrays.
Quantum metasurfaces comprised of subwavelength atomic arrays emerged as a promising platform for enhanced atom-photon interaction. However, realizing such a system with solid-state emitters has been considered impractical due to strong inhomogeneous broadening, which was expected to suppress the photon-mediated interactions that underpin collective emission. Here we report the observation of collective emission from subwavelength arrays of silicon-vacancy centres in diamond -- solid-state emitters whose inhomogeneous broadening exceeds the natural linewidth by two orders of magnitude -- demonstrating that collective effects such as resonance shifts, modified decay rates and directional coherent emission survive this disorder. A crucial enabling element is the implantation of a high density of silicon ions at each array site. This creates so-called superatoms, local ensembles that probabilistically achieve frequency matching across the array and enhance the collective response. We support our observations
with a theoretical analysis explaining the mechanisms that preserve the collective effects even in the presence of inhomogeneity. These observations have direct implications for the realization of subwavelength arrays in any solid-state system, paving the way for quantum-emitter metasurfaces that are naturally integrated into nanophotonic environments.
We develop a model describing long-range atom-atom interactions in a two-dimensional periodic or a-periodic lattice of optical centers considering spectral and spatial broadening effects. Using both analytical and numerical Green's function techniques, we develop a mathematical framework to describe effective atom-atom interactions and collective behaviors in the presence of disorder. This framework is applicable to a broad range of quantum systems with arbitrary lattice geometries, including cold atoms, solid-state photonics, and superconducting platforms. The model can be used, for example, to scalably design quantum optical elements, e.g. a quantum lens, harnessing atomistic engineering (e.g. via ion implantation) of collective interactions in materials to enhance quantum properties at scale.
We investigate the effects of retardation on the collective emissions from a linear array of $N\ensuremath{\ge}2$ atoms interacting with a one-dimensional field continuum. Decaying modes consisting of a single excitation in a photon-atom superposition with definite decay rates and frequency shifts are determined as a function of a retardation parameter proportional to the separation between atoms. In particular, the structures of these decaying modes are examined in terms of their photonic and atomic components. In addition to modes that resemble Dicke states in the Markovian limit, higher modes that decay much faster than Dicke superradiance exist. We find that these modes are dominantly photonic with field excitation localized near the edges of the array.