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Laser Physics Letters

Superradiant phase transitions in ultrastrong coupling regime

A. P. Alodjants, Petr V. Zakharenko, Dmitriy V. Tsarev

Published Oct 30, 2024• 1 citation
Publisher

Abstract

Abstract One of the long-standing problems in quantum optics and laser physics is the observation of both equilibrium and non-equilibrium (Dicke) superradiant states in two-level (qubit) systems interacting with the quantized electromagnetic (EM) field. We demonstrate that the superradiant phase transition (PT) at thermal equilibrium in such a system is close to ultrastrong light–matter coupling (USC) condition, which is currently available for superconducting devices. We examine the USC regime for EM fields interacting with two-level systems located in highly connected graph nodes of photonic networks beyond the rotating wave approximation. We find that a critical matter–field coupling parameter reduces ⟨ k ⟩ times due to network peculiarities providing suitable conditions for equilibrium PT observation; ⟨ k ⟩ is a network average node degree. We study the non-equilibrium (Dicke) superradiance for the same network system and show that superradiance appears as a non-equilibrium PT to the superradiant laser operating within a bad cavity limit. We show that population inversion in this case plays the same role as the reciprocal temperature inherent to the equilibrium superradiant PT. Our results open new perspectives for experimental observation of superradiance in cavity-free systems in the gigahertz photonic regime and beyond.

DOI
10.1088/1612-202x/ad8746

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Abstract One of the long-standing problems in quantum optics and laser physics is the observation of both equilibrium and non-equilibrium (Dicke) superradiant states in two-level (qubit) systems interacting with the quantized electromagnetic (EM) field. We demonstrate that the superradiant phase transition (PT) at thermal equilibrium in such a system is close to ultrastrong light–matter coupling (USC) condition, which is currently available for superconducting devices. We examine the USC regime for EM fields interacting with two-level systems located in highly connected graph nodes of photonic networks beyond the rotating wave approximation. We find that a critical matter–field coupling parameter reduces ⟨ k ⟩ times due to network peculiarities providing suitable conditions for equilibrium PT observation; ⟨ k ⟩ is a network average node degree. We study the non-equilibrium (Dicke) superradiance for the same network system and show that superradiance appears as a non-equilibrium PT to the superradiant laser operating within a bad cavity limit. We show that population inversion in this case plays the same role as the reciprocal temperature inherent to the equilibrium superradiant PT. Our results open new perspectives for experimental observation of superradiance in cavity-free systems in the gigahertz photonic regime and beyond.
The Dicke model can exhibit quantum phase transition between the normal and the superradiant phases when the strength of the light-matter coupling exceeds the ultrastrong-coupling regime. However, it is challenging to observe this phase transition in practical systems due to limited coupling strength or finite two-photon A2{A}^{2}A2 terms. Here we show that by applying a periodic modulation to the frequency of the two-level systems in a standard Dicke model in the strong-coupling regime, an anisotropic Dicke model with tunable rotating and counter-rotating terms in the ultrastrong-coupling regime can be achieved. We calculate the ground state and the excitation spectrum of this model in terms of the modulation parameters. Our result shows that the superradiant phases can be observed in cavity- or circuit-quantum electrodynamics systems with strong coupling.
A new concept of topological organization of microstructures that maintain the ultrastrong coupling of two-level systems to a photon field and have the topology of a network (graph) with a power-law node degree distribution has been proposed. A phase transition to the superradiant state, which leads to the formation of two dispersion branches of polaritons and is accompanied by the appearance of a nonzero macroscopic polarization of two-level systems, has been studied within the mean field theory. It has been found that the specific behavior of such a system depends on the statistical characteristics of the network structure, more precisely, on the normalized second moment ζ≡⟨k2⟩/⟨k⟩\zeta \equiv \langle {{k}^{2}}\rangle {\text{/}}\langle k\rangle ζ≡⟨k2⟩/⟨k⟩ of the distribution of node degrees. It has been shown that the Rabi frequency can be significantly increased in the anomalous regime of the network structure, where ζ increases significantly. The multimode (waveguide) structure of the interaction between matter and field in this regime can establish a ultrastrong coupling, which is primarily responsible for the high-temperature phase transition.
The controllability of current quantum technologies allows one to implement spin-boson models where two-photon couplings are the dominating terms of light-matter interaction. In this case, when the coupling strength becomes comparable with the characteristic frequencies, a spectral collapse can take place, i.e., the discrete system spectrum can collapse into a continuous band. Here, we analyze the thermodynamic limit of the two-photon Dicke model, which describes the interaction of an ensemble of qubits with a single bosonic mode. We find that there exists a parameter regime where two-photon interactions induce a superradiant phase transition, before the spectral collapse occurs. Furthermore, we extend the mean-field analysis by considering second-order quantum fluctuation terms, in order to analyze the low-energy spectrum and compare the critical behavior with the one-photon case.
In the present work we propose a novel, to the best of our knowledge, quantum material concept, which enables superstrong and/or ultrastrong interaction of two-level systems with the photonic field in a complex network. Within the mean field approximation we examine phase transition to superradiance that results in two excitation (polariton) branches and is accompanied by the appearance of non-zero macroscopic polarization of two-level systems. We characterize the statistical properties of networks by the first, 〈k〉, and second normalized, ζ ≡ 〈k2〉/〈k〉, moments for node degree distribution. We have shown that the Rabi frequency is essentially enhanced due to the topology of the network within the anomalous domain where 〈k〉 and ζ sufficiently grow. The multichannel (multimode) structure of matter–field interaction leads superstrong coupling that provides primary behavior of the high temperature phase transition. The results obtained pave the way for the design of new photonic and polaritonic circuits, quantum networks for efficient processing quantum information at high (room) temperatures.
We study effective light-matter interactions in a circuit QED system consisting of a single LCLCLC resonator, which is coupled symmetrically to multiple superconducting qubits. Starting from a minimal circuit model, we demonstrate that, in addition to the usual collective qubit-photon coupling, the resulting Hamiltonian contains direct qubit-qubit interactions, which have a drastic effect on the ground- and excited-state properties of such circuits in the ultrastrong-coupling regime. In contrast to the superradiant phase transition expected from the standard Dicke model, we find an opposite mechanism, which at very strong interactions completely decouples the photon mode and projects the qubits into a highly entangled ground state. These findings resolve previous controversies over the existence of superradiant phases in circuit QED, but they more generally show that the physics of two- or multiatom cavity QED settings can differ significantly from what is commonly assumed.
In the present work we propose a novel quantum material concept, which enables super- and/or ultrastrong interaction of two-level systems with the photonic field in a complex network. Within the mean field approximation we examine phase transition to superradiance that results in two excitation (polariton) branches and is accompanied by the appearance of non-zero macroscopic polarization of two-level systems. We characterize the statistical properties of networks by the first, ⟨k⟩{\langle}k{\rangle}⟨k⟩, and second normalized, ζ≡⟨k2⟩/⟨k⟩ζ\equiv{\langle}k^2{\rangle}/{\langle}k{\rangle}ζ≡⟨k2⟩/⟨k⟩, moments for node degree distribution. We have shown that the Rabi frequency is essentially enhanced due to the topology of the network within the anomalous domain where ⟨k⟩{\langle}k{\rangle}⟨k⟩ and ζζζ sufficiently grow. The multichannel (multimode) structure of matter-field interaction leads superstrong coupling that provides primary behavior of the high temperature phase transition. The results obtained pave the way to design new photonic and polaritonic circuits, quantum networks for efficient processing quantum information at high (room) temperatures.