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Photon bound state dynamics from a single artificial atom
Natasha Tomm1, Sahand Mahmoodian2,3, Nadia O Antoniadis1
1Department of Physics, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
Nature Physics
|June 16, 2023
Summary
Researchers directly observed photon bound states in a quantum dot system. Higher photon numbers showed shorter time delays, confirming stimulated emission and a key quantum physics phenomenon.
Area of Science:
- Quantum Physics
- Quantum Optics
- Condensed Matter Physics
Background:
- Photon-atom interactions are fundamental in quantum physics, exhibiting nonlinearity dependent on photon number.
- This nonlinearity can lead to photon bound states, crucial for processes like stimulated emission.
- Previous observations in Rydberg gases lacked direct evidence of photon-number-dependent dispersion and velocity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To directly observe photon bound states in an artificial atom system.
- To investigate the photon-number-dependent time delay in light-matter interactions.
- To provide experimental evidence for stimulated emission through photon scattering.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a semiconductor quantum dot coupled to an optical cavity as an artificial atom.
- Scattered weak coherent light pulses off the cavity-quantum electrodynamics system.
- Measured time-dependent output power and photon correlation functions.
Main Results:
- Directly observed a photon-number-dependent time delay in scattering.
- Single photons, two-photon, and three-photon bound states exhibited progressively shorter time delays.
- The reduced time delay for higher photon numbers is a signature of stimulated emission.
Conclusions:
- The study provides the first direct observation of photon-number-dependent time delays in photon scattering.
- This confirms the existence and behavior of photon bound states in a quantum dot system.
- The findings validate the role of stimulated emission in these strongly correlated quantum phenomena.
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