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

arXiv:quant-ph/0605020 · Physical Review A

Superstrong coupling regime of cavity quantum electrodynamics

D. Meiser, Pierre Meystre

Published Dec 4, 2006• 79 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

We describe a qualitatively different regime of cavity quantum electrodynamics, the superstrong coupling regime. This regime is characterized by atom-field coupling strengths of the order of the free spectral range of the cavity, resulting in a significant change in the spatial mode functions of the light field. It can be reached in practice for cold atoms trapped in an optical dipole potential inside the resonator. We present a nonperturbative scheme that allows us to calculate the frequencies and linewidths of the modified field modes, thereby providing a good starting point for a quantization of the theory.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.74.065801

Related papers

Multi-normal-mode splitting of a cavity in the presence of atoms: A step towards the superstrong-coupling regime

X. D. Yu, Dezhi Xiong, Haixia Chen +3 more

Multi-normal-mode splitting peaks are experimentally observed in a system with Doppler-broadened two-level atoms inside a relatively long optical cavity. In this system, the atom-cavity interaction can reach the ``superstrong-coupling'' condition with atom-cavity coupling strength $g\sqrt{N}$ to be near or larger than the cavity free-spectral range ${\ensuremath{\Delta}}_{\text{FSR}}$. In such case, normal-mode splitting can occur in many cavity longitudinal modes to generate the multi-normal-mode splitting peaks, which can be well explained by the linear-dispersion enhancement due to the largely increased atomic density in the cavity. Many new interesting phenomena might come out of this superstrong atom-cavity coupling regime.

arXiv:0906.1129•Physical Review A•Jun 18, 2009•19 citations

Cavity quantum electrodynamics in the nonperturbative regime

Daniele De Bernardis, Tuomas Jaako, Peter Rabl

We study a generic cavity-QED system where a set of (artificial) two-level dipoles is coupled to the electric field of a single-mode $LC$ resonator. This setup is used to derive a minimal quantum mechanical model for cavity QED, which accounts for both dipole-field and direct dipole-dipole interactions. The model is applicable for arbitrary coupling strengths and allows us to extend the usual Dicke model into the nonperturbative regime of QED, where the dipole-field interaction can be associated with an effective fine-structure constant of order unity. In this regime, we identify three distinct classes of normal, superradiant, and subradiant vacuum states and discuss their characteristic properties and the transitions between them. Our findings reconcile many of the previous, often contradictory predictions in this field and establish a common theoretical framework to describe ultrastrong-coupling phenomena in a diverse range of cavity-QED platforms.

arXiv:1712.00015•Physical Review A•Apr 11, 2018•153 citations

Cavity quantum electrodynamics with strong coupling in the optical domain

G. Rempe, R. J. Thompson, R. J. Brecha +1 more

The radiative properties of atoms inside an optical cavity can be dramatically changed with respect to those in free space. In the strong-coupling limit, the reversible dipole interaction between an atom and the cavity field dominates the irreversible decay resulting from spontaneous emission and cavity damping. In this limit the atom and field can no longer be regarded as separate quantities but instead form a composite dynamic system. To enhance the dipole coupling constant and increase the photon storage time, our experiments are performed with a small cavity 1 mm long, with a finesse of 8 × 104. On average, 0.4 photons are sufficient to saturate the resonance transition at 852 nm for the cesium atoms used, while the cooperativity parameter for a single atom is 2. Optical bistability is studied in this system over the range 3 < N < 65 atoms inside the cavity, with the semiclassical theory predicting bistability for N > 5. We report observations of manifestly quantum effects in this regime, including photon antibunching and sub-Poissonian photon statistics, with the magnitude of these nonclassical effects observed to be largely independent of the number of intracavity atoms.

Annual Meeting Optical Society of America•Jan 1, 1991•0 citations

Stochastic electrodynamics simulations for collective atom response in optical cavities

Mark D. Lee, S. D. Jenkins, Yael Bronstein +1 more

We study the collective optical response of an atomic ensemble confined within a single-mode optical cavity by stochastic electrodynamics simulations that include the effects of atomic position correlations, internal level structure, and spatial variations in cavity coupling strength and atom density. In the limit of low light intensity, the simulations exactly reproduce the full quantum field-theoretical description for cold stationary atoms and at higher light intensities we introduce semiclassical approximations to atomic saturation that we compare with the exact solution in the case of two atoms. We find that collective subradiant modes of the atoms, with very narrow linewidths, can be coupled to the cavity field by spatial variation of the atomic transition frequency and resolved at low intensities, and show that they can be specifically driven by tailored transverse pumping beams. We show that the cavity optical response, in particular both the subradiant mode profile and the resonance shift of the cavity mode, can be used as a diagnostic tool for the position correlations of the atoms and hence the atomic quantum many-body phase. The quantum effects are found to be most prominent close to the narrow subradiant mode resonances at high light intensities. Although an optical cavity can generally strongly enhance quantum fluctuations via light confinement, we show that the semiclassical approximation to the stochastic electrodynamics model provides at least a qualitative agreement with the exact optical response outside the subradiant mode resonances even in the presence of significant saturation of the atoms.

arXiv:1703.00784•Physical Review A•Aug 25, 2017•15 citations

Beyond Strong Coupling in a Multimode Cavity

Neereja M. Sundaresan, Yanbing Liu, Darius J Sadri +5 more

Here, we report an experimental realization of multimode strong coupling in cavity quantum electrodynamics.This novel regime is achieved when a single artificial atom is simultaneously strongly coupled to a large, but discrete, number of nondegenerate photonic modes of a cavity with coupling strengths comparable to the free spectral range.Our experiment reveals complex quantum multimode dynamics and spontaneous generation of quantum coherence, as evidenced by resonance fluorescence spanning many modes and ultranarrow linewidth emission.This work opens a new avenue for future experiments in light-matter interactions and poses a challenge to current theoretical approaches to its study.

arXiv:1502.02660•Physical Review X•Jun 29, 2015•170 citations

Nonperturbative atom-photon interactions in an optical cavity

H. J. Carmichael, L. Tian, Wei Ren

One of the principal developments in cavity quantum electrodynamics in the last few years has been the extension of the ideas originally applied to systems of Rydberg atoms in microwave cavities to optical frequencies. As a corollary of this, more attention is being paid to quantum fluctuations and photon statistics. Another development, still in its infancy, is a move toward experiments using slowed or trapped atoms, or velocity selected beams; these methods are needed to enter the nonperturbative (strong dipole coupling) regime for one atom where there are experiments on subtle quantum-statistical effects go carry out. In this chapter we solve a number of theoretical problems related to these themes. Although the focus of the work is on optical systems, most of what we do is also relevant at microwave frequencies. We emphasize quantum fluctuations and photon statistics, and we try always to separate the quantum physics from those aspects of the physics that are understandable in classical terms. On the whole we only pay attention to the nonperturbative regime of cavity quantum electrodynamics where the dipole coupling strength is larger than the dissipation rates. 59 refs., 14 figs.

•Dec 31, 1994•4 citations
We describe a qualitatively different regime of cavity quantum electrodynamics, the superstrong coupling regime. This regime is characterized by atom-field coupling strengths of the order of the free spectral range of the cavity, resulting in a significant change in the spatial mode functions of the light field. It can be reached in practice for cold atoms trapped in an optical dipole potential inside the resonator. We present a nonperturbative scheme that allows us to calculate the frequencies and linewidths of the modified field modes, thereby providing a good starting point for a quantization of the theory.
Multi-normal-mode splitting peaks are experimentally observed in a system with Doppler-broadened two-level atoms inside a relatively long optical cavity. In this system, the atom-cavity interaction can reach the ``superstrong-coupling'' condition with atom-cavity coupling strength gNg\sqrt{N}gN​ to be near or larger than the cavity free-spectral range ${\ensuremath{\Delta}}_{\text{FSR}}$. In such case, normal-mode splitting can occur in many cavity longitudinal modes to generate the multi-normal-mode splitting peaks, which can be well explained by the linear-dispersion enhancement due to the largely increased atomic density in the cavity. Many new interesting phenomena might come out of this superstrong atom-cavity coupling regime.
We study a generic cavity-QED system where a set of (artificial) two-level dipoles is coupled to the electric field of a single-mode LCLCLC resonator. This setup is used to derive a minimal quantum mechanical model for cavity QED, which accounts for both dipole-field and direct dipole-dipole interactions. The model is applicable for arbitrary coupling strengths and allows us to extend the usual Dicke model into the nonperturbative regime of QED, where the dipole-field interaction can be associated with an effective fine-structure constant of order unity. In this regime, we identify three distinct classes of normal, superradiant, and subradiant vacuum states and discuss their characteristic properties and the transitions between them. Our findings reconcile many of the previous, often contradictory predictions in this field and establish a common theoretical framework to describe ultrastrong-coupling phenomena in a diverse range of cavity-QED platforms.
The radiative properties of atoms inside an optical cavity can be dramatically changed with respect to those in free space. In the strong-coupling limit, the reversible dipole interaction between an atom and the cavity field dominates the irreversible decay resulting from spontaneous emission and cavity damping. In this limit the atom and field can no longer be regarded as separate quantities but instead form a composite dynamic system. To enhance the dipole coupling constant and increase the photon storage time, our experiments are performed with a small cavity 1 mm long, with a finesse of 8 × 104. On average, 0.4 photons are sufficient to saturate the resonance transition at 852 nm for the cesium atoms used, while the cooperativity parameter for a single atom is 2. Optical bistability is studied in this system over the range 3 < N < 65 atoms inside the cavity, with the semiclassical theory predicting bistability for N > 5. We report observations of manifestly quantum effects in this regime, including photon antibunching and sub-Poissonian photon statistics, with the magnitude of these nonclassical effects observed to be largely independent of the number of intracavity atoms.
We study the collective optical response of an atomic ensemble confined within a single-mode optical cavity by stochastic electrodynamics simulations that include the effects of atomic position correlations, internal level structure, and spatial variations in cavity coupling strength and atom density. In the limit of low light intensity, the simulations exactly reproduce the full quantum field-theoretical description for cold stationary atoms and at higher light intensities we introduce semiclassical approximations to atomic saturation that we compare with the exact solution in the case of two atoms. We find that collective subradiant modes of the atoms, with very narrow linewidths, can be coupled to the cavity field by spatial variation of the atomic transition frequency and resolved at low intensities, and show that they can be specifically driven by tailored transverse pumping beams. We show that the cavity optical response, in particular both the subradiant mode profile and the resonance shift of the cavity mode, can be used as a diagnostic tool for the position correlations of the atoms and hence the atomic quantum many-body phase. The quantum effects are found to be most prominent close to the narrow subradiant mode resonances at high light intensities. Although an optical cavity can generally strongly enhance quantum fluctuations via light confinement, we show that the semiclassical approximation to the stochastic electrodynamics model provides at least a qualitative agreement with the exact optical response outside the subradiant mode resonances even in the presence of significant saturation of the atoms.
Here, we report an experimental realization of multimode strong coupling in cavity quantum electrodynamics.This novel regime is achieved when a single artificial atom is simultaneously strongly coupled to a large, but discrete, number of nondegenerate photonic modes of a cavity with coupling strengths comparable to the free spectral range.Our experiment reveals complex quantum multimode dynamics and spontaneous generation of quantum coherence, as evidenced by resonance fluorescence spanning many modes and ultranarrow linewidth emission.This work opens a new avenue for future experiments in light-matter interactions and poses a challenge to current theoretical approaches to its study.
One of the principal developments in cavity quantum electrodynamics in the last few years has been the extension of the ideas originally applied to systems of Rydberg atoms in microwave cavities to optical frequencies. As a corollary of this, more attention is being paid to quantum fluctuations and photon statistics. Another development, still in its infancy, is a move toward experiments using slowed or trapped atoms, or velocity selected beams; these methods are needed to enter the nonperturbative (strong dipole coupling) regime for one atom where there are experiments on subtle quantum-statistical effects go carry out. In this chapter we solve a number of theoretical problems related to these themes. Although the focus of the work is on optical systems, most of what we do is also relevant at microwave frequencies. We emphasize quantum fluctuations and photon statistics, and we try always to separate the quantum physics from those aspects of the physics that are understandable in classical terms. On the whole we only pay attention to the nonperturbative regime of cavity quantum electrodynamics where the dipole coupling strength is larger than the dissipation rates. 59 refs., 14 figs.