Crystallization of strongly interacting photons in a nonlinear optical fibre

Chang, Darrick E.; Gritsev, Vladimir; Morigi, Giovanna; Vuletić, Vladan; Lukin, Mikhail D.; Demler, Eugene

doi:10.1038/nphys1074

Cited by 197 publications

(281 citation statements)

References 54 publications

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“…Here, C 6 is the atomic van der Waals coefficient. propagating in cold atomic gases, in which the photon-photon interactions are induced using either single-atom nonlinearities or strong interactions between atoms in Rydberg states 89,90 . For example, researchers predict that a photonic state exhibiting crystal correlations could be produced by engineering strong effective repulsion between photons and an effective photonic mass in EIT-based systems 89,90 .…”

Section: Many-body Physics With Strongly Interacting Photonsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…propagating in cold atomic gases, in which the photon-photon interactions are induced using either single-atom nonlinearities or strong interactions between atoms in Rydberg states 89,90 . For example, researchers predict that a photonic state exhibiting crystal correlations could be produced by engineering strong effective repulsion between photons and an effective photonic mass in EIT-based systems 89,90 . This represents a remarkable new avenue for quantum nonlinear optics, wherein exotic states of light can be created whose collective properties cannot be understood in a mean-field picture -a type of behaviour that in the past has been associated primarily with strongly interacting condensed-matter systems.…”

Section: Many-body Physics With Strongly Interacting Photonsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Quantum nonlinear optics — photon by photon

2014

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other. This linearity in light propagation, in combination with the high frequency and hence large bandwidth provided by waves at optical frequencies, has made optical signals the preferred method for communicating information over long distances. In contrast, the processing of information requires some form of interaction between signals. In the case of light, such interactions can be enabled by nonlinear optical processes. These processes, which are now found ubiquitously throughout science and technology, include optical modulation and switching, nonlinear spectroscopy and frequency conversion 1 , and have applications across both the physical 2 and biological 3,4 sciences.A long-standing goal in optical science has been the implementation of nonlinear effects at progressively lower light powers or pulse energies. The ultimate limit may be termed 'quantum nonlinear optics' (Box 1) -the regime where individual photons interact so strongly with one another that the propagation of light pulses containing one, two or more photons varies substantially with photon number. Although this domain is difficult to reach owing to the small nonlinear coefficients of bulk optical materials, the potential payoff is significant. The realization of quantum nonlinear optics could improve the performance of classical nonlinear devices, enabling, for example, fast energy-efficient optical transistors that avoid Ohmic heating 5 . Furthermore, nonlinear switches activated by single photons could enable optical quantum information processing and communication 6 , as well as other applications that rely on the generation and manipulation of non-classical light fields 7,8 . The challenge of making photons interactAt low optical powers, most optical materials exhibit only linear optical phenomena, such as refraction and absorption, which can be described by a complex index of refraction. However, a sufficiently intense light beam can modify a material's index of refraction, such that the light propagation becomes power-dependent. This is the essence of classical nonlinear optics (Box 1). Large optical fields are required to alter the index of refraction of conventional bulk materials because a strong nonlinear response can only be induced if the electric field of the light beam acting on the electrons is comparable to the field of the nucleus. As a result, early experimental observations of nonlinear optical phenomena, such as frequencydoubling or sum-frequency generation 9 , were achievable only after the development of powerful lasers. Advances in nonlinear optics over the past four decades have resulted in progressively more efficient nonlinear processes 10 , thus enabling the observation of nonlinear processes at lower and lower light levels. It is natural to inquire if and how these nonlinear interactions can be made so strong that they become important even at the level of individual quanta of radiation. Although this question was addressed in early theoretical studies [11][12][13] , it has become more pressing with the advent of...

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Section: Many-body Physics With Strongly Interacting Photonsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Many-body Physics With Strongly Interacting Photonsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantum nonlinear optics — photon by photon

2014

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“…These include the exploration of a novel quantum matter composed from strongly interacting, massive photons 9 . Measurements of higher-order correlation functions may give direct experimental access to quantum solitons composed of a few interacting bosons 24 , or to the detection of crystalline states of a photonic gas 9 . By colliding two counterpropagating photons, it may be possible to imprint a spatially homogeneous phase shift of π on the photon pair, corresponding to a deterministic quantum gate 14 for scalable optical quantum computation 13 .…”

Section: The Measured G (2)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Attractive photons in a quantum nonlinear medium

Firstenberg¹,

Peyronel²,

Liang³

et al. 2013

Nature

411

493

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* These authors contributed equally to this workThe fundamental properties of light derive from its constituent particles (photons) that are massless and do not interact with one another 1 . At the same time, it has been long known that the realization of coherent interactions between individual photons, akin to those associated with conventional massive particles, could enable a wide variety of unique scientific and engineering applications 2,3 . Here, by coupling light to strongly interacting atomic Rydberg states in a dispersive regime, we demonstrate a quantum nonlinear medium inside which individual photons travel as massive particles with strong mutual attraction, such that the propagation of photon pairs is dominated by a two-photon bound state 4-7 . We measure the dynamical evolution of the two-photon wavefunction using time-resolved quantum state tomography, and demonstrate a conditional phase shift 8 exceeding one radian, resulting in polarization-entangled photon pairs. Unique applications include all-optical switching, deterministic photonic quantum logic, and the generation of strongly correlated states of light 9 .Interactions between individual photons are being explored in cavity quantum electrodynamics, where a single, confined electromagnetic mode is coupled to an atomic system 10-12 . Our approach is to couple a light field propagating in a dispersive medium to highly excited atomic states with strong mutual interactions (Rydberg states) 13,14 . Similar to previous studies of quantum nonlinearities via Rydberg states that were based on dissipation 15-19 rather than dispersion 20 , we make use of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) to slow down the propagation of light 21 in a cold atomic gas. By operating in a dispersive regime away from the intermediate atomic resonance (Fig. 1b), where atomic absorption is low and only weakly nonlinear 22 , we realize a situation where Rydberg-atom-mediated coherent interactions between individual photons dominate the propagation dynamics of weak light pulses. Previous theoretical studies have proposed various scenarios for inducing strong interactions between individual photons 2,3,23 and for creating bound states of a few quanta 4,5,7,24 , a feature generic to strongly interacting quantum field theories. The first experimental realization of a photonic system with strong attractive interactions, including evidence for a predicted two-photon bound state, represents the main result of this work.Our experiment (outlined in Fig. 1a) makes use of an ultracold rubidium gas loaded into a dipole trap, as described previously 19 . The probe light of interest is σ + polarized, coupling the ground state |g to the Rydberg state |r via an intermediate state |e of linewidth Γ/(2π) = 6.1 MHz by means of a control field that is detuned by ∆ below the resonance frequency of the upper transition |e → |r (Fig. 1b). Under these conditions, for a very weak probe field with mean incident photon rate R i = 0.5 µs −1 , EIT is established when the probe detuning matches...

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“…With notable progress towards generating strong optical nonlinearities at the few-photon level, for example with atoms coupled to small-mode-volume optical devices [17][18][19][20][21][22], Rydberg polaritons [23,24], and circuit-QED devices [25][26][27][28], this situation is rapidly changing. The production of strongly interacting, driven and dissipative gases of photons appears to be feasible [29,30], and affords exciting opportunities to explore the properties of open quantum systems in unique contexts, while studying the applicability of theoretical treatments designed with more weakly interacting systems in mind. For example, it is not fully understood how the steady states of these systems relate to the equilibrium states of their "closed" counterparts, or how conventional optical phenomena, such as bistability, manifests in the presence of strong optical nonlinearities and spatial degrees of freedom.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Collective phases of strongly interacting cavity photons

Wilson

Mahmud

et al. 2016

Phys. Rev. A

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We study a coupled array of coherently driven photonic cavities, which maps onto a drivendissipative XY spin-1 2 model with ferromagnetic couplings in the limit of strong optical nonlinearities. Using a site-decoupled mean-field approximation, we identify steady state phases with canted antiferromagnetic order, in addition to limit cycle phases, where oscillatory dynamics persist indefinitely. We also identify collective bistable phases, where the system supports two steady states among spatially uniform, antiferromagnetic, and limit cycle phases. We compare these mean-field results to exact quantum trajectories simulations for finite one-dimensional arrays. The exact results exhibit short-range antiferromagnetic order for parameters that have significant overlap with the mean-field phase diagram. In the mean-field bistable regime, the exact quantum dynamics exhibits real-time collective switching between macroscopically distinguishable states. We present a clear physical picture for this dynamics, and establish a simple relationship between the switching times and properties of the quantum Liouvillian.Despite numerous outstanding questions, the study of quantum many-body systems in thermal equilibrium is on relatively solid ground. In particular, very general guiding principles help to categorize the possible equilibrium phases of matter, and predict in what situations they can occur [1][2][3]. In comparison, quantum manybody systems that are far from equilibrium are less thoroughly understood, motivating a large scale effort to explore non-equilibrium dynamics experimentally, in particular using atoms, molecules, and photons [4][5][6][7][8][9]. At the same time, it has become clear that studying nonequilibrium physics in these systems is often more natural than studying equilibrium physics; they are, in general, intrinsically non-equilibrium. For example, thermal equilibrium is essentially never a reasonable assumption in photonic systems, where dissipation must be countered by active pumping [10]. Indeed, the inadequacy of equilibrium descriptions for photonic systems has long been recognized [11], even though close analogies to thermal systems sometimes exist [12][13][14][15][16].Until recently, photonic systems have been restricted to a weakly interacting regime. With notable progress towards generating strong optical nonlinearities at the few-photon level, for example with atoms coupled to small-mode-volume optical devices [17][18][19][20][21][22], Rydberg polaritons [23,24], and circuit-QED devices [25][26][27][28], this situation is rapidly changing. The production of strongly interacting, driven and dissipative gases of photons appears to be feasible [29,30], and affords exciting opportunities to explore the properties of open quantum systems in unique contexts, while studying the applicability of theoretical treatments designed with more weakly interacting systems in mind. For example, it is not fully understood how the steady states of these systems relate to the equilibrium states of their "closed" c...

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Crystallization of strongly interacting photons in a nonlinear optical fibre

Cited by 197 publications

References 54 publications

Quantum nonlinear optics — photon by photon

Quantum nonlinear optics — photon by photon

Attractive photons in a quantum nonlinear medium

Collective phases of strongly interacting cavity photons

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