Dicke Superradiance Requires Interactions beyond Nearest Neighbors

Area of Science:

• Quantum Optics
• Condensed Matter Physics
• Many-Body Quantum Systems

Background:

• Dicke superradiance involves enhanced emission rates from excited emitters.
• Superradiance is typically observed in systems with long-range interactions.
• The minimal interaction range for superradiance is not well-defined.

Purpose of the Study:

• To theoretically determine the minimal interaction range for observable Dicke superradiance.
• To investigate the role of interaction range in collective emission enhancement.
• To establish conditions for designing superradiant emission in quantum systems.

Main Methods:

• Developed a new theoretical method to bound maximum emission rates.
• Utilized spectral radius of an auxiliary Hamiltonian.
• Analyzed arbitrary ordered arrays with nearest-neighbor and next-nearest-neighbor interactions.

Main Results:

• Proved that nearest-neighbor interactions alone do not support observable superradiant bursts.
• Demonstrated that Dicke superradiance minimally requires next-nearest-neighbor interactions.
• For exponentially decaying interactions, the critical coupling is independent of emitter number.

Conclusions:

• Nearest-neighbor interactions are insufficient for Dicke superradiance.
• Next-nearest-neighbor interactions are essential for collective emission enhancement.
• Findings offer insights into collective decay and designing superradiant applications.