Single Photon Emission by Atomic Ensembles: Collective, Virtual and Non-Local Effects

Texas A&M University, College Station TX

Investigators

Abstract

The collective nature of light emission by many atoms can yield radiation speedup or light trapping even if a single photon is stored in the atomic cloud. This project will investigate how emission and absorption of virtual photons occurring on a very short time scale, and retardation caused by the finite value of the speed of light, affect emission of electromagnetic radiation by atomic systems. The influence of those effects on evolution of fast and slow decaying collective states will be calculated for various shapes of the atomic cloud. Quantum features of photon emission by atomic ensembles and interplay between superradiant and stimulated processes will be investigated. The project will advance the understanding of collective interaction between light and atoms at the quantum single-photon level, and it will yield deeper insights into quantum electrodynamics in general. This project could have important practical implications beyond the intellectual interest. The research can be useful in various applications of the entangled atomic ensembles and the generated quantum states of light, for optical quantum-state storage, quantum cryptography, quantum communication and quantum information. The program will involve education and training of graduate students and postdoctoral researchers and will give them an opportunity to work on problems which lie at the interface of modern quantum optics and many body physics.