Purcell-enhanced dipolar interactions in nanostructures

Skljarow, A.; Kübler, H.; Adams, C.S.; Pfau, T.; Löw, R.; Alaeian, H.

Abstract

Strong light-induced interactions between atoms are known to cause nonlinearities at a few-photon level, which are crucial for applications in quantum information processing. Compared to free space, the scattering and the light-induced dipolar interaction of atoms can be enhanced by a dielectric environment. For this Purcell effect, either a cavity or a waveguide can be used. Here, we combine the high densities achievable in thermal atomic vapors with an efficient coupling to a slot waveguide. In contrast to free-space interactions, atoms aligned within the slot exhibit repulsive interactions that are further enhanced by a factor of 8 due to the Purcell effect. The corresponding blueshift of the transition frequency of atoms arranged in the essentially one-dimensional geometry vanishes above the saturation, providing a controllable nonlinearity at the few-photon level. The experimental results are in good agreement with Monte Carlo simulations that include the dielectric environment, dipolar interactions, and motional effects. The results pave the way towards a robust scalable platform for quantum nonlinear optics and all-optical quantum information processing at room temperature.

Citation

Skljarow, A., Kübler, H., Adams, C., Pfau, T., Löw, R., & Alaeian, H. (2022). Purcell-enhanced dipolar interactions in nanostructures. Physical Review Research, 4(2), https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevresearch.4.023073

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: May 12, 2022
• Online Publication Date: May 26, 2022
• Publication Date: 2022
• Deposit Date: Jul 19, 2022
• Publicly Available Date: Jul 19, 2022
• Journal: Physical Review Research
• Electronic ISSN: 2643-1564
• Publisher: American Physical Society
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 4
• Issue: 2
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevresearch.4.023073
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1197339