Abstract
Virtually all interactions that are relevant for atomic and condensed matter physics are mediated by quantum fluctuations of the electromagnetic field vacuum. Consequently, controlling the vacuum fluctuations can be used to engineer the strength and the range of interactions. Recent experiments have used this premise to demonstrate novel quantum phases or entangling gates by embedding electric dipoles in photonic cavities or wave guides, which modify the electromagnetic fluctuations. Here, we show theoretically that the enhanced fluctuations in the antisqueezed quadrature of a squeezed vacuum state allow for engineering interactions between electric dipoles without the need for a photonic structure. Thus, the strength and range of the interactions can be engineered in a time-dependent way by changing the spatial profile of the squeezed vacuum in a traveling-wave geometry, which also allows the implementation of chiral dissipative interactions. Using experimentally realized squeezing parameters and including realistic losses, we predict single-atom cooperativities of up to 10 for the squeezed-vacuum-enhanced interactions.
- Received 11 August 2016
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevX.7.021041
Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 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)
Erratum
Erratum: Engineering Matter Interactions Using Squeezed Vacuum [Phys. Rev. X 7, 021041 (2017)]
Sina Zeytinoğlu, Ataç İmamoğlu, and Sebastian Huber
Phys. Rev. X 9, 049903 (2019)
Popular Summary
The control of matter at the quantum level is critical for a range of applications, from quantum information processing to investigating the fundamental organizational principles for ensembles of particles governed by quantum mechanics. To control a quantum system, one generically needs to control the interactions between its constituents. In quantum electrodynamics, these interactions are typically conveyed via fluctuations in the surrounding electromagnetic field. The ability to modify the electromagnetic vacuum could therefore allow for precise control over interactions between quantum systems. We propose a framework that provides unprecedented flexibility in controlling such interactions based on an unconventional application of a “squeezed vacuum,” a state in which uncertainties in the amplitude or the phase of electromagnetic fluctuations are reduced in one at the expense of the other.
We propose that the enhanced quantum fluctuations in a squeezed vacuum provide a versatile resource for generating strong interactions between two quantum systems (such as two atoms). To this end, we first derive the effective Hamiltonian for many atoms coupled to a narrow-band continuum of squeezed vacuum modes. We then show that the rate of the pairwise effective interactions can be much faster than the decay rate of the atomic excitations. Lastly, we elaborate on specific applications of the squeezed vacuum framework, such as implementation of arbitrary range interactions and realization of quantum networks.
Our work provides a conceptual link between the vast literature on the generation and properties of squeezed states and the more recent advances in the control of matter at the quantum level. Moreover, the possibility of creating squeezed vacuum states in many existing platforms greatly extends the applicability of our ideas.