Photon transport in a gas of two-level atoms: unveiling quantum light creation

Year: 2025

Authors: Yatsenko L., Cordier M., Pache L., Schemmer M., Schneeweiss P., Volz J., Rauschenbeutel A.

Autors Affiliation: Inst Phys, Natl Acad Sci Ukraine, Nauki Ave 46, UA-03028 Kyiv, Ukraine; Humboldt Univ, Dept Phys, Unter Linden 6, D-10099 Berlin, Germany; CNR, Ist Nazl Ott, I-50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy.

Abstract: We present a theoretical analysis of nearly monochromatic light propagation through a gas of two-level atoms using the Heisenberg-Langevin equation method. Our focus is on the evolution of the photon annihilation operator and its impact on the second-order correlation function, g(2)(tau), with particular emphasis on photon antibunching behavior. The model accounts for both open and closed atomic system approximations, including Doppler broadening and the influence of pump field detuning. We derive expressions that reproduce known results from scattering theory and extend the analysis to complex systems, such as inhomogeneously broadened media. The theoretical predictions are compared with experimental data from a waveguide quantum electrodynamics platform, which show good agreement and thereby demonstrate the power of our approach. Future work will explore extensions to even more complex systems and other quantum light characteristics for practical applications.

Journal/Review: NEW JOURNAL OF PHYSICS

Volume: 27 (10)      Pages from: 104505-1  to: 104505-24

More Information: L P acknowledges support from the Einstein Foundation (Einstein Research Unit on Quantum Devices). M S acknowledges support by Young Researcher Grant MajorSuperQ MSCA. We acknowledge funding by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation in the framework of the Alexander von Humboldt Professorship endowed by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, as well as direct funding by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (Collaborative Research Project NetiQueT).
KeyWords: quantum nonlinear optics; photon transport in atomic media; Heisenberg-Langevin equations; second-order correlation function; quantum light generation and antibunching; spontaneous emission and Doppler broadening; open and closed two-level systems
DOI: 10.1088/1367-2630/ae0f49