Thermodynamics and State Preparation in a Two-State System of Light

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Kurtscheid, Christian, Redmann, Andreas, Vewinger, Frank, Schmitt, Julian, Weitz, Martin
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
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_version_ 1866918173948772352
author Kurtscheid, Christian
Redmann, Andreas
Vewinger, Frank
Schmitt, Julian
Weitz, Martin
author_facet Kurtscheid, Christian
Redmann, Andreas
Vewinger, Frank
Schmitt, Julian
Weitz, Martin
contents The coupling of two-level quantum systems to the thermal environment is a fundamental problem, with applications ranging from qubit state preparation to spin models. However, for the elementary problem of the thermodynamics of an ensemble of bosons populating a two-level system despite its conceptual simplicity experimental realizations are scarce. Using an optical dye microcavity platform, we thermalize photons in a two-mode system with tunable chemical potential, demonstrating N bosons populating a two-level system coupled to a heat bath. Under pulsed excitation, Josephson oscillations between the two quantum states demonstrate the possibility for coherent manipulation. In contrast, under stationary conditions the thermalization of the two-mode system is observed. As the energetic splitting between eigenstates is two orders of magnitude smaller than thermal energy, at low occupations an almost equal distribution of the modes occupation is observed, as expected from Boltzmann statistics. For larger occupation, we observe efficient population of the ground state and saturation of the upper level at high filling, expected from quantum statistics. Our experiment holds promise for state preparation in quantum technologies as well as for quantum thermodynamics studies.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2411_14838
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Thermodynamics and State Preparation in a Two-State System of Light
Kurtscheid, Christian
Redmann, Andreas
Vewinger, Frank
Schmitt, Julian
Weitz, Martin
Quantum Gases
Quantum Physics
The coupling of two-level quantum systems to the thermal environment is a fundamental problem, with applications ranging from qubit state preparation to spin models. However, for the elementary problem of the thermodynamics of an ensemble of bosons populating a two-level system despite its conceptual simplicity experimental realizations are scarce. Using an optical dye microcavity platform, we thermalize photons in a two-mode system with tunable chemical potential, demonstrating N bosons populating a two-level system coupled to a heat bath. Under pulsed excitation, Josephson oscillations between the two quantum states demonstrate the possibility for coherent manipulation. In contrast, under stationary conditions the thermalization of the two-mode system is observed. As the energetic splitting between eigenstates is two orders of magnitude smaller than thermal energy, at low occupations an almost equal distribution of the modes occupation is observed, as expected from Boltzmann statistics. For larger occupation, we observe efficient population of the ground state and saturation of the upper level at high filling, expected from quantum statistics. Our experiment holds promise for state preparation in quantum technologies as well as for quantum thermodynamics studies.
title Thermodynamics and State Preparation in a Two-State System of Light
topic Quantum Gases
Quantum Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2411.14838