In this theoretical paper, we investigate coherence properties of the near-resonant light scattered by two atoms exposed to a strong monochromatic field. To properly incorporate saturation effects, we use a quantum Langevin approach. In contrast to the standard optical Bloch equations, this method naturally provides the inelastic spectrum of the radiated light induced by the quantum electromagnetic vacuum fluctuations. However, to get the right spectral properties of the scattered light, it is essential to correctly describe the statistical properties of these vacuum fluctuations. Because of the presence of the two atoms, these statistical properties are not Gaussian : (i) the spatial two-points correlation function displays a speckle-like behavior and (ii) the three-points correlation function does not vanish. We also explain how to incorporate in a simple way propagation with a frequency-dependent scattering mean-free path, meaning that the two atoms are embedded in an average scattering dispersive medium. Finally we show that saturation-induced nonlinearities strongly modify the atomic scattering properties and, as a consequence, provide a source of decoherence in multiple scattering. This is exemplified by considering the coherent backscattering configuration where interference effects are blurred by this decoherence mechanism. This leads to a decrease of the so-called coherent backscattering enhancement factor.
In this Letter we present experimental results concerning the retrieval of images of absorbing objects immersed in turbid media via differential ghost imaging (DGI) in a backscattering configuration. The method has been applied, for the first time to our knowledge, to the imaging of small thin black objects located at different depths inside a turbid solution of polystyrene nanospheres and its performances assessed via comparison with standard imaging techniques. A simple theoretical model capable of describing the basic optics of DGI in turbid media is proposed.
We analyze the disorder-perturbed transport of quantum states in the absence of backscattering. This comprises, for instance, the propagation of edge-mode wave packets in topological insulators, or the propagation of photons in inhomogeneous media. We quantify the disorder-induced dephasing, which we show to be bound. Moreover, we identify a gap condition to remain in the backscattering-free regime despite disorder-induced momentum broadening. Our analysis comprises the full disorder-averaged quantum state, on the level of both populations and coherences, appreciating states as potential carri…
The Langevin noise approach for quantization of macroscopic electromagnetics for three-dimensional, inhomogeneous environments is compared with normal mode quantization. Recent works on the applicability of the method are discussed, and several examples are provided showing that for closed systems the Langevin noise approach reduces to the usual cavity mode expansion method when loss is eliminated.
We exploit the biased tip of a scanning gate microscope (SGM) to induce a controlled backscattering between counter-propagating edge channels in a wide constriction in the quantum Hall regime. We compare our detailed conductance maps with a numerical percolation model and demonstrate that conductance fluctuations observed in these devices as a function of the gate voltage originate from backscattering events mediated by localized states pinned by potential fluctuations. Our imaging technique allows us to identify the necessary conditions for the activation of these backscattering processes and…
Coherent backscattering is a coherence effect in the propagation of waves through disordered media involving two or more scattering events. Here, we report on the observation of coherent backscattering from individual atoms and their mirror images. This system displays two important advantages: First, the effect can be observed at low optical densities, which allows to work in very dilute clouds or far from resonance. Second, due to the fact that the radiation of an atom interferes constructively with that of its own image, the phenomenon is much more robust to dephasing induced by strong satu…
Reciprocity is a universal principle that has a profound impact on many areas of physics. A fundamental phenomenon in condensed-matter physics, optical physics and acoustics, arising from reciprocity, is the constructive interference of quantum or classical waves which propagate along time-reversed paths in disordered media, leading to, for example, weak localization and metal-insulator transition. Previous studies have shown that such coherent effects are suppressed when reciprocity is broken. Here we show that by breaking reciprocity in a controlled manner, we can tune, rather than simply su…
We observe the buildup of a frequency-shifted reverse light field in a unidirectionally pumped high-$Q$ optical ring cavity serving as a dipole trap for cold atoms. This effect is enhanced and a steady state is reached, if via an optical molasses an additional friction force is applied to the atoms. We observe the displacement of the atoms accelerated by momentum transfer in the backscattering process and interpret our observations in terms of the collective atomic recoil laser. Numerical simulations are in good agreement with the experimental results.
We investigate the interaction between light and molecular systems modeled as quantum emitters coupled to a multitude of vibrational modes via a Holstein-type interaction. We follow a quantum Langevin equations approach that allows for analytical derivations of absorption and fluorescence profiles of molecules driven by classical fields or coupled to quantized optical modes. We retrieve analytical expressions for the modification of the radiative emission branching ratio in the Purcell regime and for the asymmetric cavity transmission associated with dissipative cross-talk between upper and lo…
We demonstrate the fundamental links existing between two different descriptions of quantum electrodynamics in inhomogeneous, lossy and dispersive dielectric media which are based either on the Huttner-Barnett formalism for polaritons [B. Huttner and S. M. Barnett, Phys.Rev. A 46, 4306 (1992)] or the Langevin noise approach using fluctuating currents [T. Gruner and D.-G. Welsch, Phys.Rev.A 53, 1818 (1996)]. In this work we demonstrate the practical equivalence of the two descriptions by introducing the concept of effective photon state associated with some specific noise current distribution. …
We numerically investigate the properties of speckle patterns formed by nonlinear point scatterers. We show that, in the weak localization regime, dynamical instability appears, eventually leading to chaotic behavior of the system. Analysing the statistical properties of the instability thresholds for different values of the system size and disorder strength, a scaling law is emphasized. The later is also found to govern the smallest decay rate of the linear system, putting thus forward the crucial importance of interference effects. This is also underlined by the fact that coherent backscatte…
The interference contrast observed in coherent backscattering by cold atoms is drastically reduced with respect to classical disordered media. We study the impact of the degeneracy of the resonant atomic dipole transition on multiple scattering of polarised photons. An analytical treatment allows to derive the diffusion coefficient and depolarisation times for the average light intensity, and dephasing times for the weak localisation corrections. The calculated CBS signals reproduce the experimental results.
Numerical Framework for Multimode Jaynes- and Tavis-Cummings Models Incorporating the Modified Langevin Noise Formalism: Non-Markovian Analysis of Atom-Field Interactions in Dissipative Electromagnetic Environments
Wave-particle duality finds a natural application for electrons or light propagating in disordered media where coherent corrections to transport are given by two-wave interference. For scatterers with internal degrees of freedom, these corrections are observed to be much smaller than would be expected for structureless scatterers. By examining the basic example of the scattering of one photon by two spin-1/2 atoms--a case-study for coherent backscattering--we demonstrate that the loss of interference strength is associated with which-path information stored by the scattering atoms.
Anderson localization, the absence of diffusion in disordered media, draws its origins from the destructive interference between multiple scattering paths. The localization properties of disordered systems are expected to be dramatically sensitive to their symmetry characteristics. So far however, this question has been little explored experimentally. Here, we investigate the realization of an artificial gauge field in a synthetic (temporal) dimension of a disordered, periodically-driven (Floquet) quantum system. Tuning the strength of this gauge field allows us to control the time-reversal sy…
Quantum optomechanics with arbitrary mirror displacement: nonlinear Langevin equation with non-Markovian back-action noises
Universidad de Santiago de Chile（圣地亚哥智利大学）；Millennium Institute for Research in Optics（光学研究千年研究所）；Tamkang University（淡江大学）；University of Maryland, College Park（马里兰大学帕克分校）
The Heisenberg-Langevin equation for a spatial laser soliton in a wide-aperture laser with saturable absorption is constructed within the framework of consistent quantum electrodynamics. We discuss in detail the canonical variables for the generation field and the material two-level medium, consisting of centres providing amplification and absorption. It is assumed that laser generation evolves in time much more slowly than an atomic media. This assumption makes it possible to apply the adiabatic approximation and construct a closed equation for the amplitude of a laser field. Much attention i…
In this article we compute the Casimir force between two finite-width mirrors at finite temperature, working in a simplified model in 1+1 dimensions. The mirrors, considered as dissipative media, are modeled by a continuous set of harmonic oscillators which in turn are coupled to an external environment at thermal equilibrium. The calculation of the Casimir force is performed in the framework of the theory of quantum open systems. It is shown that the Casimir interaction has two different contributions: the usual radiation pressure from vacuum, which is obtained for ideal mirrors without dissi…
In the standard theory of cavity quantum electrodynamics (QED), coupling between photons inside and outside a cavity (cavity system and photonic reservoir) is given conserving the total number of photons. However, when the cavity photons (ultra)strongly interact with atoms or excitations in matters, the system-reservoir coupling must be determined from a more fundamental viewpoint. Based on the Maxwell's boundary conditions in the QED theory for dielectric media, we derive the quantum Langevin equation and input-output relation, in which the total number of polaritons (not photons) inside the …
