Observation of collective decay dynamics of a single Rydberg superatom

Stiesdal, Nina; Busche, Hannes; Kumlin, Jan; Kleinbeck, Kevin; Büchler, Hans Peter; Hofferberth, Sebastian

doi:10.1103/physrevresearch.2.043339

Cited by 22 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…There, the super-and subradiant states that emerge when a propagating light field couples to a spatially extended ensemble of emitters can be used as a resource to implement novel protocols, e.g., in the context of quantum information, quantum communication, and frequency standards [1][2][3][4][5]. The underlying, socalled timed Dicke regime has been extensively studied, both theoretically and experimentally, e.g., with ensembles of laser-cooled atoms in the optical domain [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14]. However, the regime where the ensemble is highly excited or even fully inverted has only recently become accessible [15][16][17][18].…”

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confidence: 99%

Collective excitation and decay of waveguide-coupled atoms: from timed Dicke states to inverted ensembles

Liedl¹,

Pucher²,

Tebbenjohanns³

et al. 2022

Preprint

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The collective absorption and emission of light by an ensemble of atoms is at the heart of many fundamental quantum optical effects and the basis for numerous applications. However, beyond weak excitation, both experiment and theory become increasingly challenging. Here, we explore the regimes from weak excitation to inversion with ensembles of up to one thousand atoms that are trapped and optically interfaced using the evanescent field surrounding an optical nanofiber. We realize strong inversion, with about 80 % of the atoms being excited, and study their subsequent radiative decay into the guided modes. The data is very well described by a simple model that assumes a cascaded interaction of the guided light with the atoms. Our results contribute to the fundamental understanding of the collective interaction of light and matter and are relevant for applications ranging from quantum memories to sources of nonclassical light to optical frequency standards.

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confidence: 99%

Collective excitation and decay of waveguide-coupled atoms: from timed Dicke states to inverted ensembles

Liedl¹,

Pucher²,

Tebbenjohanns³

et al. 2022

Preprint

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“…For 𝑅 in ≈ 10 𝜇s −1 (bottom row), saturation sets in even faster, but we observe a slight oscillation in the subsequent transmission, which reflects the superatom dynamics as the probe drives Rabi oscillations between |𝐺 and |𝑊 with strong damping due to 𝛾 𝐷 [16]. To suppress superradiant reemission of absorbed photons in the forward direction after the probe pulse [44,45], 𝛾 𝐷 has to be sufficiently strong not only compared to 1/𝜏, but also the coherent dynamics [16,34]. The dephasing is dominated by atomic motion, with additional contributions from elastic scattering of the Rydberg electron by ground state atoms [46][47][48] and the AC-Stark shift induced by the trapping light.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 86%

Controlled multi-photon subtraction with cascaded Rydberg superatoms as single-photon absorbers

et al. 2021

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The preparation of light pulses with well-defined quantum properties requires precise control at the individual photon level. Here, we demonstrate exact and controlled multi-photon subtraction from incoming light pulses. We employ a cascaded system of tightly confined cold atom ensembles with strong, collectively enhanced coupling of photons to Rydberg states. The excitation blockade resulting from interactions between Rydberg atoms limits photon absorption to one per ensemble and rapid dephasing of the collective excitation suppresses stimulated re-emission of the photon. We experimentally demonstrate subtraction with up to three absorbers. Furthermore, we present a thorough theoretical analysis of our scheme where we identify weak Raman decay of the long-lived Rydberg state as the main source of infidelity in the subtracted photon number and investigate the performance of the multi-photon subtractor for increasing absorber numbers in the presence of Raman decay.

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“…From this perspective it is not surprising that many of the phenomena first described in [1] persist even in the case of extended ensembles [2], a situation closer to many experimental configurations. For instance, superand subradiance have been reported in cold atom clouds [3][4][5][6][7][8], Rydberg atoms [9,10] and ensembles of nuclei [11]. Under these circumstances, excitation through the absorption of a photon with wavevector k is more appropriately described by a so-called timed Dicke state [2]:…”

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confidence: 99%

Collective radiative dynamics of an ensemble of cold atoms coupled to an optical waveguide

Pennetta,

Blaha,

Johnson

et al. 2021

Preprint

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We experimentally and theoretically investigate collective radiative effects in an ensemble of cold atoms coupled to a single-mode optical nanofiber. Our analysis unveils the microscopic dynamics of the system, showing that collective interactions between the atoms and a single guided photon gradually build-up along the atomic array in the direction of propagation of light. These results are supported by time-resolved measurements of the light transmitted and reflected by the ensemble after excitation via nanofiber-guided laser pulses, whose rise and fall times are shorter than the atomic lifetime. Superradiant decays more than one order of magnitude faster than the single-atom free-space decay rate are observed for emission in the forward-propagating guided mode, while at the same time no speed-up of the decay rate are measured in the backward direction. In addition, position-resolved measurements of the light that is transmitted past the atoms are performed by inserting the nanofiber-coupled atomic array in a 45-m long fiber ring-resonator, which allow us to experimentally reveal the progressive growth of the collective response of the atomic ensemble. Our results highlight the unique opportunities offered by nanophotonic cold atom systems for the experimental investigation of collective light-matter interaction.

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Observation of collective decay dynamics of a single Rydberg superatom

Cited by 22 publications

References 47 publications

Collective excitation and decay of waveguide-coupled atoms: from timed Dicke states to inverted ensembles

Collective excitation and decay of waveguide-coupled atoms: from timed Dicke states to inverted ensembles

Controlled multi-photon subtraction with cascaded Rydberg superatoms as single-photon absorbers

Collective radiative dynamics of an ensemble of cold atoms coupled to an optical waveguide

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