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Many-Body Radiative Decay in Strongly Interacting Rydberg Ensembles
Chris Nill1, Kay Brandner2, Beatriz Olmos1,2
1Institut für Theoretische Physik, Universität Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 14, 72076 Tübingen, Germany.
Physical Review Letters
|December 23, 2022
Summary
Interactions between excited Rydberg atoms significantly alter photon emission, transforming spontaneous emission into a collective quantum process. This collective dissipation accelerates decoherence and impacts phase transitions in atomic ensembles.
Area of Science:
- Quantum physics
- Atomic physics
- Many-body systems
Background:
- Excited Rydberg atoms exhibit strong dipolar interactions.
- These interactions enable studies of nonequilibrium phenomena and quantum technologies.
- Dissipative effects arise from coupling to the electromagnetic field.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate the impact of Rydberg atom interactions on dissipative effects.
- Understand how these interactions modify spontaneous emission.
- Analyze the emergence of collective dissipation in Rydberg ensembles.
Main Methods:
- Theoretical analysis of Rydberg atom interactions.
- Quantum master equation formalism.
- Investigation of collective jump operators.
Main Results:
- Rydberg interactions modify photon emission frequency, making it dependent on the local atomic neighborhood.
- Spontaneous emission becomes a many-body process.
- Collective dissipation emerges as a distinct phenomenon from superradiance/subradiance.
Conclusions:
- Collective dissipation in Rydberg ensembles accelerates decoherence.
- This mechanism influences dissipative phase transitions.
- Rydberg interactions introduce a new dimension to understanding dissipation in quantum systems.
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