Modified dipole-dipole interaction and dissipation in an atomic ensemble near surfaces

We study how the radiative properties of a dense ensemble of atoms can be modified when they are placed near or between metallic or dielectric surfaces. If the average separation between the atoms is comparable or smaller than the wavelength of the scattered photons, the coupling to the radiation fi...

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Main Authors: Jones, Ryan, Needham, Jemma A., Lesanovsky, Igor, Intravaia, Francesco, Olmos, Beatriz
Format: Article
Published: American Physical Society 2018
Online Access:https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/52395/
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author Jones, Ryan
Needham, Jemma A.
Lesanovsky, Igor
Intravaia, Francesco
Olmos, Beatriz
author_facet Jones, Ryan
Needham, Jemma A.
Lesanovsky, Igor
Intravaia, Francesco
Olmos, Beatriz
author_sort Jones, Ryan
building Nottingham Research Data Repository
collection Online Access
description We study how the radiative properties of a dense ensemble of atoms can be modified when they are placed near or between metallic or dielectric surfaces. If the average separation between the atoms is comparable or smaller than the wavelength of the scattered photons, the coupling to the radiation field induces long-range coherent interactions based on the interatomic exchange of virtual photons. Moreover, the incoherent scattering of photons back to the electromagnetic field is known to be a many-body process, characterized by the appearance of superradiant and subradiant emission modes. By changing the radiation field properties, in this case by considering a layered medium where the atoms are near metallic or dielectric surfaces, these scattering properties can be dramatically modified. We perform a detailed study of these effects, with focus on experimentally relevant parameter regimes. We finish with a specific application in the context of quantum information storage,where the presence of a nearby surface is shown to increase the storage time of an atomic excitation that is transported across a one-dimensional chain.
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spelling nottingham-523952020-05-04T19:38:23Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/52395/ Modified dipole-dipole interaction and dissipation in an atomic ensemble near surfaces Jones, Ryan Needham, Jemma A. Lesanovsky, Igor Intravaia, Francesco Olmos, Beatriz We study how the radiative properties of a dense ensemble of atoms can be modified when they are placed near or between metallic or dielectric surfaces. If the average separation between the atoms is comparable or smaller than the wavelength of the scattered photons, the coupling to the radiation field induces long-range coherent interactions based on the interatomic exchange of virtual photons. Moreover, the incoherent scattering of photons back to the electromagnetic field is known to be a many-body process, characterized by the appearance of superradiant and subradiant emission modes. By changing the radiation field properties, in this case by considering a layered medium where the atoms are near metallic or dielectric surfaces, these scattering properties can be dramatically modified. We perform a detailed study of these effects, with focus on experimentally relevant parameter regimes. We finish with a specific application in the context of quantum information storage,where the presence of a nearby surface is shown to increase the storage time of an atomic excitation that is transported across a one-dimensional chain. American Physical Society 2018-05-29 Article PeerReviewed Jones, Ryan, Needham, Jemma A., Lesanovsky, Igor, Intravaia, Francesco and Olmos, Beatriz (2018) Modified dipole-dipole interaction and dissipation in an atomic ensemble near surfaces. Physical Review A, 97 (5). 053841/1-053841/13. ISSN 1094-1622 https://journals.aps.org/pra/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevA.97.053841 doi:10.1103/PhysRevA.97.053841 doi:10.1103/PhysRevA.97.053841
spellingShingle Jones, Ryan
Needham, Jemma A.
Lesanovsky, Igor
Intravaia, Francesco
Olmos, Beatriz
Modified dipole-dipole interaction and dissipation in an atomic ensemble near surfaces
title Modified dipole-dipole interaction and dissipation in an atomic ensemble near surfaces
title_full Modified dipole-dipole interaction and dissipation in an atomic ensemble near surfaces
title_fullStr Modified dipole-dipole interaction and dissipation in an atomic ensemble near surfaces
title_full_unstemmed Modified dipole-dipole interaction and dissipation in an atomic ensemble near surfaces
title_short Modified dipole-dipole interaction and dissipation in an atomic ensemble near surfaces
title_sort modified dipole-dipole interaction and dissipation in an atomic ensemble near surfaces
url https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/52395/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/52395/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/52395/