arXiv subjects

Stefan Rotter

Publications and source records attributed to Stefan Rotter.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2023

Certifying multi-mode light-matter interaction in lossy resonators

Quantum models based on few-mode Master equations have been a central tool in the study of resonator quantum electrodynamics, extending the seminal single-mode Jaynes-Cummings model to include loss and multiple modes. Despite their broad application range, previous approaches within this framework have either relied on a Markov approximation or a fitting procedure. By combining ideas from pseudomode and quasinormal mode theory, we develop a certification criterion for multi-mode effects in lossy resonators. It is based on a witness observable, and neither requires a fitting procedure nor a Markov approximation. Using the resulting criterion, we demonstrate that such multi-mode effects are important for understanding previous experiments in X-ray cavity QED with Mössbauer nuclei and that they allow one to tune the nuclear ensemble properties.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2022

Optimal Cooling of Multiple Levitated Particles through Far-Field Wavefront-Shaping

Light forces can be harnessed to levitate mesoscopic objects and cool them down towards their motional quantum ground state. Significant roadblocks on the way to scale up levitation from a single to multiple particles in close proximity are the requirements to constantly monitor the particles' positions as well as to engineer complex light fields that react fast and appropriately to their movements. Here, we present an approach that solves both problems at once. By exploiting the information stored in a time-dependent scattering matrix, we introduce a robust formalism enabling the identification of spatially modulated wavefronts, which simultaneously cool down multiple levitated objects of arbitrary shapes. An experimental implementation is suggested based on stroboscopic scattering-matrix measurements and time-adaptive injections of modulated light fields.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2022

Optimal Cooling of Multiple Levitated Particles: Theory of Far-Field Wavefront-Shaping

The opportunity to manipulate small-scale objects pushes us to the limits of our understanding of physics. Particularly promising in this regard is the interdisciplinary field of levitation, in which light fields can be harnessed to isolate nano-particles from their environment by levitating them optically. When cooled down towards their motional quantum ground state, levitated systems offer the tantalizing prospect of displaying mesoscopic quantum properties. Currently restricted to single objects with simple shapes, the interest in levitation is currently moving towards the manipulation of more complex structures, such as those featuring multiple particles or different degrees of freedom. Unfortunately, current cooling techniques are mostly designed for single objects and thus cannot easily be multiplexed to address such coupled many-body systems. Here, we present an approach based on the spatial modulation of light in the far-field to cool down multiple nano-objects in parallel. Our procedure is based on the experimentally measurable scattering matrix and on its changes with time. We demonstrate how to compose from these ingredients a linear energy-shift operator, whose eigenstates are identified as the incoming wavefronts that implement the most efficient cooling of complex moving ensembles of levitated particles. Submitted in parallel with arxiv:2103.12592, this article provides a theoretical and numerical study of the expected cooling performance as well as of the robustness of the method against environmental parameters.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2022

Observation of Chiral State Transfer Without Encircling an Exceptional Point

The adiabatic theorem, a corollary of the Schrödinger equation, manifests itself in a profoundly different way in non-Hermitian arrangements, resulting in counterintuitive state transfer schemes that have no counterpart in closed quantum systems. In particular, the dynamical encirclement of exceptional points (EPs) in parameter space has been shown to lead to a chiral phase accumulation, non-adiabatic jumps, and topological mode conversion [1- 8]. Recent theoretical studies, however, have shown that contrary to previously established demonstrations, this behavior is not strictly a result of winding around a non-Hermitian degeneracy [9]. Instead, it appears to be mostly attributed to the non-trivial landscape of the Riemann surfaces, sometimes because of the presence of an exceptional point in the vicinity [9- 11]. In an effort to bring this counterintuitive aspect of non-Hermitian systems into light and confirm this hypothesis, we provide here the first set of experiments to directly observe the field evolution and chiral state conversion in an EP-excluding cycle in a slowly varying non- Hermitian system. To do so, a versatile yet unique fiber-based photonic emulator is realized that utilizes the polarization degrees of freedom in a quasi-common path single-ring arrangement. Our observations may open up new avenues for light manipulation and state conversion, while providing a foundation for understanding the intricacies of the adiabatic theorem in non-Hermitian systems.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2022

Massively degenerate coherent perfect absorber for arbitrary wavefronts

One of the key insights in the emerging field of non-Hermitian photonics is that well-established concepts like the laser can be operated in reverse to realize a 'coherent perfect absorber' (CPA). While conceptually appealing, such CPAs are limited so far to a single, judiciously shaped wavefront or 'mode'. Here, we demonstrate how this limitation can be overcome by time-reversing a 'degenerate cavity laser', based on a unique cavity that self-images any incident light-field onto itself. Placing a weak, critically-coupled absorber into this cavity, we demonstrate that any incoming wavefront, even a complex and dynamically-varying speckle pattern, is absorbed with close to perfect efficiency in a massively parallel interference process. Moreover, the coherent nature of multi-mode absorption allows us to tune the degree of absorption over a wide range. These characteristics open-up interesting new possibilities for applications in light-harvesting, energy delivery, light control, and imaging.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2022

Transforming space with non-Hermitian dielectrics

Coordinate transformations are a versatile tool to mould the flow of light, enabling a host of astonishing phenomena such as optical cloaking with metamaterials. Moving away from the usual restriction that links isotropic materials with conformal transformations, we show how non-conformal distortions of optical space are intimately connected to the complex refractive index distribution of an isotropic non-Hermitian medium. Remarkably, this insight can be used to circumvent the material requirement of working with refractive indices below unity, which limits the applications of transformation optics. We apply our approach to design a broadband unidirectional dielectric cloak, which relies on non-conformal coordinate transformations to tailor the nonHermitian refractive index profile around a cloaked object. Our insights bridge the fields of two-dimensional transformation optics and non-Hermitian photonics.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2022

Customized anti-reflection structure for perfect transmission through complex media

Getting to grips with the detrimental influence of disordered environments on wave propagation is an interdisciplinary endeavour spanning diverse research areas ranging from telecommunications \cite{basar_wireless_2019} and bio-medical imaging \cite{kubby_wavefront_2019} to seismology \cite{Campillo2003} and material engineering \cite{Chen2010,Molesky2018}. Wavefront shaping techniques are highly promising to overcome the effect of wave scattering as even opaque media feature open channels for which the incident light is fully transmitted \cite{Dorokhov1984,Gerardin2014,Sarma2016,Jeong18}. With this feature being restricted, however, to just a small subset of judiciously engineered states it remains out of reach to render an opaque sample translucent for any incident light field. Here we show that a structureless medium composed of randomly assembled scattering elements can be made fully transmitting to all incoming wavefronts by putting a customized complementary medium in front of it. This special situation is achieved when the reflection matrices of the two media surfaces facing each other satisfy a matrix generalization of the condition for critical coupling. We implement this protocol both numerically and experimentally for the design of electromagnetic waveguides with several dozen scattering elements placed inside of them. The translucent scattering media we introduce here also have the promising property of being able to store incident radiation in their interior for remarkably long times.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2022

Temporal light control in complex media through the singular value decomposition of the time-gated transmission matrix

The complex temporal behavior of an ultrashort pulse of light propagating through a multiply scattering medium can be characterized experimentally through a time-gated transmission matrix. Using a spatial light modulator, we demonstrate here, that injecting singular vectors of this matrix allows us to optimally control energy deposition at any controllable delay time. Our approach provides insights into fundamental aspects of multi-spectral light scattering and could find applications in imaging or coherent control.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2022

Speckle engineering through singular value decomposition of the transmission matrix

Speckle patterns are ubiquitous in optics and have multiple applications for which the control of their spatial correlations is essential. Here, we report on a method to engineer speckle correlations behind a scattering medium through the singular value decomposition of the transmission matrix. We not only demonstrate control over the speckle grain size and shape but also realize patterns with non-local correlations. Moreover, we show that the reach of our method extends also along the axial dimension, allowing volumetric speckle engineering behind scattering layers.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2021

Optimal control of coherent light scattering for binary decision problems

Due to quantum noise fluctuations, the rate of error achievable in decision problems involving several possible configurations of a scattering system is subject to a fundamental limit known as the Helstrom bound. Here, we present a general framework to calculate and minimize this bound using coherent probe fields with tailored spatial distributions. As an example, we experimentally study a target located in between two disordered scattering media. We first show that the optimal field distribution can be directly identified using a general approach based on scattering matrix measurements. We then demonstrate that this optimal light field successfully probes the presence of the target with a number of photons that is reduced by more than two orders of magnitude as compared to unoptimized fields.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2021

Roadmap on Wavefront Shaping and deep imaging in complex media

The last decade has seen the development of a wide set of tools, such as wavefront shaping, computational or fundamental methods, that allow to understand and control light propagation in a complex medium, such as biological tissues or multimode fibers. A vibrant and diverse community is now working on this field, that has revolutionized the prospect of diffraction-limited imaging at depth in tissues. This roadmap highlights several key aspects of this fast developing field, and some of the challenges and opportunities ahead.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2021

Mean-field limits for non-linear Hawkes processes with excitation and inhibition

We study a multivariate, non-linear Hawkes process $Z^N$ on the complete graph with $N$ nodes. Each vertex is either excitatory (probability $p$) or inhibitory (probability $1-p$). We take the mean-field limit of $Z^N$, leading to a multivariate point process $\bar Z$. If $p\neq\tfrac12$, we rescale the interaction intensity by $N$ and find that the limit intensity process solves a deterministic convolution equation and all components of $\bar Z$ are independent. In the critical case, $p=\tfrac12$, we rescale by $N^{1/2}$ and obtain a limit intensity, which solves a stochastic convolution equation and all components of $\bar Z$ are conditionally independent.

math.PR↗

arXiv2021

Maximum information states for coherent scattering measurements

The use of coherent light for precision measurements has been a key driving force for numerous research directions, ranging from biomedical optics to semiconductor manufacturing. Recent work demonstrates that the precision of such measurements can be significantly improved by tailoring the spatial profile of light fields used for estimating an observable system parameter. These advances naturally raise the intriguing question of which states of light can provide the ultimate measurement precision. Here, we introduce a general approach to determine the optimal coherent states of light for estimating any given parameter, regardless of the complexity of the system. Our analysis reveals that the light fields delivering the ultimate measurement precision are eigenstates of a Hermitian operator which quantifies the Fisher information based on the system's scattering matrix. To illustrate this concept, we experimentally show that these maximum information states can probe the phase or the position of an object that is hidden by a disordered medium with a precision improved by an order of magnitude as compared to unoptimized states. Our results enable optimally precise measurements in arbitrarily complex systems, thus establishing a new benchmark for metrology and imaging applications.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2021

Periodic cavity state revivals from atomic frequency combs

Spin ensembles with a comb-shaped spectrum have shown exciting properties as efficient quantum memories. Here, we present a rigorous theoretical study of such atomic frequency combs in the strong coupling limit of cavity QED, based on a full quantum treatment using tensor-network methods. Our results demonstrate that arbitrary multi-photon states in the cavity are almost perfectly absorbed by the spin ensemble and re-emitted as parity-flipped states at periodic time intervals. Fidelity values near unity are achieved in these revived states by compensating for energy shifts induced by the strong spin-cavity coupling through adjustments of individual coupling values of the teeth in the atomic frequency comb.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2021

Invariance property of the Fisher information in scattering media

Determining the ultimate precision limit for measurements on a sub-wavelength particle with coherent laser light is a goal with applications in areas as diverse as biophysics and nanotechnology. Here, we demonstrate that surrounding such a particle with a complex scattering environment does, on average, not have any influence on the mean quantum Fisher information associated with measurements on the particle. As a remarkable consequence, the average precision that can be achieved when estimating the particle's properties is the same in the ballistic and in the diffusive scattering regime, independently of the particle's position within its complex environment. This invariance law breaks down only in the regime of Anderson localization, due to increased speckle correlations. Finally, we show how these results connect to the mean quantum Fisher information achievable with spatially optimized input fields.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2021

Customizing the angular memory effect for scattering media

The memory effect in disordered systems is a key physical phenomenon that has been employed for optical imaging, metrology, and communication through opaque media. Under the conventional memory effect, when the incident beam is tilted slightly, the transmitted pattern tilts in the same direction. However, the "memory" is limited in its angular range and tilt direction. Here, we present a general approach to customize the memory effect by introducing an angular memory operator. Its eigenstates possess perfect correlation for tilt angles and directions that can be arbitrarily chosen separately for the incident and transmitted waves, and can be readily realized with wavefront shaping. This work reveals the power of wavefront shaping in creating any desired memory for applications of classical and quantum waves in complex systems.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2021

Scattering invariant modes of light in complex media

Random scattering of light in disordered media is an intriguing phenomenon of fundamental relevance to various applications. While techniques such as wavefront shaping and transmission matrix measurements have enabled remarkable progress for advanced imaging concepts, the most successful strategy to obtain clear images through a disordered medium remains the filtering of ballistic light. Ballistic photons with a scattering-free propagation are, however, exponentially rare and no method so far can increase their proportion. To address these limitations, we introduce and experimentally implement here a new set of optical states that we term Scattering Invariant Modes (SIMs), whose transmitted field pattern is the same, irrespective of whether they scatter through a disordered sample or propagate ballistically through a homogeneous medium. We observe SIMs that are only weakly attenuated in dense scattering media, and show in simulations that their correlations with the ballistic light can be used to improve imaging inside scattering materials.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2020

Mean path length invariance in wave-scattering beyond the diffusive regime

Diffusive random walks feature the surprising property that the average length of all possible random trajectories that enter and exit a finite domain is determined solely by the domain boundary. Changes in the diffusion constant or the mean-free path, that characterize the diffusion process, leave the mean path length unchanged. Here we demonstrate experimentally that this result can be transferred to the scattering of waves, even when wave interference leads to marked deviations from a diffusion process. Using a versatile microwave setup, we establish the mean path length invariance for the crossover to Anderson localization and for the case of a band gap in a photonic crystal. We obtain these results on the mean path length solely based on a transmission matrix measurement through a novel procedure that turns out to be more robust to absorption and incomplete measurement in the localized regime as compared to an assessment based on the full scattering matrix.

cond-mat.soft↗