Polaron-Polaritons in Subwavelength Arrays of Trapped Atoms
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arXiv
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Preprint |
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2026
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| _version_ | 1866917230453719040 |
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| author | Nielsen, Kristian Knakkergaard Wangler, Lukas Castells-Graells, David Cirac, J. Ignacio Asenjo-Garcia, Ana Malz, Daniel Rusconi, Cosimo C. |
| author_facet | Nielsen, Kristian Knakkergaard Wangler, Lukas Castells-Graells, David Cirac, J. Ignacio Asenjo-Garcia, Ana Malz, Daniel Rusconi, Cosimo C. |
| contents | Subwavelength arrays of atoms trapped in optical lattices or tweezers are inherently susceptible to deformations: Optomechanical forces produce lattice distortions, which, in turn, modify the optical response of the array. We show that this coupling hybridizes collective atomic excitations (polaritons) with phonons, forming polaron-polaritons -- the fundamental quasiparticles governing light-matter interactions in arrays of trapped atoms. Using analytical polaron theory and numerical simulations, we show that: (1) phonons can strongly enhance the decay of subradiant states, but also enable their efficient excitation; (2) transport of dark excitations remains remarkably robust even at low trap frequencies, except when a polariton can resonantly scatter phonons; and (3) motion reduces the reflectivity of a two-dimensional atomic mirror, however, we identify mechanisms that mitigate this degradation and restore reflectivity above 99% in some cases. Our findings lay the foundation for analyzing motional effects in key applications and suggest new ways to harness them in state-of-the-art experiments. |
| format | Preprint |
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arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2601_21062 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Polaron-Polaritons in Subwavelength Arrays of Trapped Atoms Nielsen, Kristian Knakkergaard Wangler, Lukas Castells-Graells, David Cirac, J. Ignacio Asenjo-Garcia, Ana Malz, Daniel Rusconi, Cosimo C. Quantum Physics Quantum Gases Subwavelength arrays of atoms trapped in optical lattices or tweezers are inherently susceptible to deformations: Optomechanical forces produce lattice distortions, which, in turn, modify the optical response of the array. We show that this coupling hybridizes collective atomic excitations (polaritons) with phonons, forming polaron-polaritons -- the fundamental quasiparticles governing light-matter interactions in arrays of trapped atoms. Using analytical polaron theory and numerical simulations, we show that: (1) phonons can strongly enhance the decay of subradiant states, but also enable their efficient excitation; (2) transport of dark excitations remains remarkably robust even at low trap frequencies, except when a polariton can resonantly scatter phonons; and (3) motion reduces the reflectivity of a two-dimensional atomic mirror, however, we identify mechanisms that mitigate this degradation and restore reflectivity above 99% in some cases. Our findings lay the foundation for analyzing motional effects in key applications and suggest new ways to harness them in state-of-the-art experiments. |
| title | Polaron-Polaritons in Subwavelength Arrays of Trapped Atoms |
| topic | Quantum Physics Quantum Gases |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.21062 |