Tunable Directional Emission and Collective Dissipation with Quantum Metasurfaces

Area of Science:

• Quantum optics
• Condensed matter physics
• Metamaterials

Background:

• Subwavelength atomic arrays exhibit strong interference, leading to subradiant excitations with long lifetimes.
• These quantum metamaterials offer a novel platform for exploring quantum optical phenomena.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate tunable directional emission patterns and collective dissipative couplings using subradiant excitations.
• To optimize atomic array geometry and auxiliary atom placement for enhanced quantum effects.

Main Methods:

• Characterization of optimal square atomic array geometries for directional emission.
• Identification of optimal auxiliary atom positions for efficient coupling to subradiant metasurface excitations.
• Investigation of strategies like entangled atomic clusters and bilayers for improvement.
• Analysis of relative dipole orientation effects on emission directionality.

Main Results:

• Optimal square array geometries for directional emission were identified.
• Effective atomic positions for coupling to subradiant excitations were determined.
• Control over emission directionality via relative dipole orientation was demonstrated.
• Directional emission patterns were shown to translate into collective, anisotropic dissipative couplings.

Conclusions:

• Subwavelength atomic arrays can be engineered for tunable quantum optical phenomena.
• Harnessing subradiant excitations allows for control over directional emission and collective couplings.
• Entangled atomic clusters and bilayers offer pathways for improving these quantum effects.