How Subradiance Enables Nonlinearity in Weakly Driven Quantum Arrays

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Scarlatella, Orazio, Cooper, Nigel R.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
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author Scarlatella, Orazio
Cooper, Nigel R.
author_facet Scarlatella, Orazio
Cooper, Nigel R.
contents Harnessing the nonlinear response of a medium is essential for applications including frequency conversion and light amplification, as well as for the generation of quantum many-body correlations of light or matter. However, achieving these effects typically requires high drive intensities and thick samples, which induce undesired heating effects that typically suppress quantum correlations. In this work, we demonstrate that atom-thin arrays of quantum emitters exhibit a robust nonlinear response even at arbitrarily weak drive intensities. This discovery challenges the long-held assumption that weakly driven ensembles behave classically; instead, we reveal that subradiant states provide a dominant nonlinear contribution that persists in the low-intensity limit. Using a Dynamical Mean-Field Theory (DMFT) approach, we predict that these nonlinearities generate a quantum-correlated steady state composed of interacting pairs of subradiant excitations, characterized by long-range correlations and multi-mode squeezing. Our findings establish a new frontier for nonlinear quantum optics at minimal power, and provide a scalable protocol for preparing multimode squeezing, offering potential for applications in quantum metrology.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2409_01386
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle How Subradiance Enables Nonlinearity in Weakly Driven Quantum Arrays
Scarlatella, Orazio
Cooper, Nigel R.
Quantum Gases
Quantum Physics
Harnessing the nonlinear response of a medium is essential for applications including frequency conversion and light amplification, as well as for the generation of quantum many-body correlations of light or matter. However, achieving these effects typically requires high drive intensities and thick samples, which induce undesired heating effects that typically suppress quantum correlations. In this work, we demonstrate that atom-thin arrays of quantum emitters exhibit a robust nonlinear response even at arbitrarily weak drive intensities. This discovery challenges the long-held assumption that weakly driven ensembles behave classically; instead, we reveal that subradiant states provide a dominant nonlinear contribution that persists in the low-intensity limit. Using a Dynamical Mean-Field Theory (DMFT) approach, we predict that these nonlinearities generate a quantum-correlated steady state composed of interacting pairs of subradiant excitations, characterized by long-range correlations and multi-mode squeezing. Our findings establish a new frontier for nonlinear quantum optics at minimal power, and provide a scalable protocol for preparing multimode squeezing, offering potential for applications in quantum metrology.
title How Subradiance Enables Nonlinearity in Weakly Driven Quantum Arrays
topic Quantum Gases
Quantum Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2409.01386