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Observation of Coherent Coupling between Super- and Subradiant States of an Ensemble of Cold Atoms Collectively Coupled to a Single Propagating Optical Mode

Riccardo Pennetta, Daniel Lechner, Martin Blaha, Arno Rauschenbeutel, Philipp Schneeweiss, and Jürgen Volz
Phys. Rev. Lett. 128, 203601 – Published 17 May 2022
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Abstract

We discuss the evolution of the quantum state of an ensemble of atoms that are coupled via a single propagating optical mode. We theoretically show that the quantum state of N atoms, which are initially prepared in the timed Dicke state, in the single excitation regime evolves through all the N1 states that are subradiant with respect to the propagating mode. We predict this process to occur for any atom number and any atom-light coupling strength. These findings are supported by measurements performed with cold cesium atoms coupled to the evanescent field of an optical nanofiber. We experimentally observe the evolution of the state of the ensemble passing through the first two subradiant states, leading to sudden, temporary switch-offs of the optical power emitted into the nanofiber. Our results contribute to the fundamental understanding of collective atom-light interaction and apply to all physical systems, whose description involves timed Dicke states.

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  • Received 22 December 2021
  • Accepted 8 April 2022

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.128.203601

Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI.

Published by the American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Atomic, Molecular & Optical

Authors & Affiliations

Riccardo Pennetta*, Daniel Lechner, Martin Blaha, Arno Rauschenbeutel, Philipp Schneeweiss, and Jürgen Volz

  • Department of Physics, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, 12489 Berlin, Germany

  • *riccardo.pennetta@hu-berlin.de
  • juergen.volz@hu-berlin.de

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Issue

Vol. 128, Iss. 20 — 20 May 2022

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