Thermal, Quantum Antibunching and Lasing Thresholds from Single Emitters to Macroscopic Devices

Area of Science:

• Quantum Optics
• Cavity Quantum Electrodynamics
• Solid-State Physics

Background:

• Understanding light-matter interactions in optical cavities is crucial for quantum technologies.
• Quantized Hamiltonians provide a fundamental framework for describing quantum systems.
• Emission properties like thermal emission and photon bunching are key indicators of quantum behavior.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analytically determine emission regimes (thermal, collective anti-bunching, laser) for identical emitters in an optical cavity.
• To investigate the dependence of these regimes on the number of emitters and system parameters.
• To identify conditions where standard methods like second-order intensity correlation may fail to predict laser action.

Main Methods:

• Derivation of a fully quantized Hamiltonian for an ensemble of emitters coupled to cavity modes.
• Analytical determination of emission regimes as a function of emitter number, pump intensity, and system parameters.
• Analysis of the transition from thermal emission to collective anti-bunching and lasing.

Main Results:

• Identified distinct regimes of thermal emission, collective anti-bunching, and laser emission.
• Established that laser emission is achieved above a critical number of emitters, dependent on coupling, detuning, and dissipation.
• Demonstrated a universal transition pathway to lasing with increasing pump power.
• Presented cases where second-order intensity correlation is insufficient for predicting laser action.

Conclusions:

• The number of emitters plays a critical role in determining quantum emission properties in optical cavities.
• A universal transition to lasing exists, driven by pump intensity and influenced by system parameters.
• Advanced analytical methods are necessary to fully characterize quantum emission and laser action in complex systems.