arXiv subjects

Thomas Pohl

Publications and source records attributed to Thomas Pohl.

71 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

arXiv2016

Many-body decoherence dynamics and optimised operation of a single-photon switch

We develop a theoretical framework to characterize the decoherence dynamics due to multi-photon scattering in an all-optical switch based on Rydberg atom induced nonlinearities. By incorporating the knowledge of this decoherence process into optimal photon storage and retrieval strategies, we establish optimised switching protocols for experimentally relevant conditions, and evaluate the corresponding limits in the achievable fidelities. Based on these results we work out a simplified description that reproduces recent experiments [arXiv:1511.09445] and provides a new interpretation in terms of many-body decoherence involving multiple incident photons and multiple gate excitations forming the switch. Aside from offering insights into the operational capacity of realistic photon switching capabilities, our work provides a complete description of spin wave decoherence in a Rydberg quantum optics setting, and has immediate relevance to a number of further applications employing photon storage in Rydberg media.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2016

Driven-dissipative many-body systems with mixed power-law interactions: Bistabilities and temperature-driven non-equilibrium phase transitions

We investigate the non-equilibrium dynamics of a driven-dissipative spin ensemble with competing power-law interactions. We demonstrate that dynamical phase transitions as well as bistabilities can emerge for asymptotic van der Waals interactions, but critically rely on the presence of a slower decaying potential-core. Upon introducing random particle motion, we show that a finite gas temperature can drive a phase transition with regards to the spin degree of freedom and eventually leads to mean-field behaviour in the high-temperature limit. Our work reconciles contrasting observations of recent experiments with Rydberg atoms in the cold-gas and hot-vapour domain, and introduces an efficient theoretical framework in the latter regime.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2014

Microwave control of Rydberg atom interactions

We investigate the interaction between Rydberg atoms, whose electronic states are dressed by multiple microwave fields. Numerical calculations are used for an exact description of the microwave induced interactions, and employed to benchmark a perturbative treatment that yields simple insights into the involved mechanisms. Based on this theory, we demonstrate that microwave dressing provides a powerful approach to control dipolar as well as van der Waals interactions and even permits to turn them off entirely. In addition, the proposed scheme also opens up possibilities for engineering dominant three-body interactions.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2014

Fractional Quantum Hall States of Rydberg Polaritons

We propose a scheme for realizing fractional quantum Hall states of light. In our scheme, photons of two polarizations are coupled to different atomic Rydberg states to form two flavors of Rydberg polaritons that behave as an effective spin. An array of optical cavity modes overlapping with the atomic cloud enables the realization of an effective spin-1/2 lattice. We show that the dipolar interaction between such polaritons, inherited from the Rydberg states, can be exploited to create a flat, topological band for a single spin-flip excitation. At half filling, this gives rise to a photonic (or polaritonic) fractional Chern insulator -- a lattice-based, fractional quantum Hall state of light.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2014

Exchange-induced crystallization of soft core bosons

We study the phase diagram of a two-dimensional assembly of bosons interacting via a soft core repulsive pair potential of varying strength, and compare it to that of the equivalent system in which particles are regarded as distinguishable. We show that quantum-mechanical exchanges stabilize a "cluster crystal" phase in a wider region of parameter space than predicted by calculations in which exchanges are neglected. This physical effect is diametrically opposite to that which takes place in hard core Bose systems such as $^4$He, wherein exchanges strengthen the fluid phase. It is underlain in the cluster crystal phase of soft core bosons by the free energy gain associated to the formation of local Bose-Einstein condensates.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2014

Antiferromagnetic long-range order in dissipative Rydberg lattices

We study the dynamics of dissipative spin lattices with power-law interactions, realized via few-level atoms driven by coherent laser-coupling and decoherence processes. Using Monte-Carlo simulations, we determine the phase diagram in the steady state and analyze the dynamics of its generation. As opposed to mean-field predictions and nearest-neighbour models there is no phase transition to long-range ordered phases for realistic interactions and resonant driving. However, for finite laser detunings, we demonstrate the emergence of crystalline order with a vanishing dissipative gap. Although the found steady states differ considerably from those of an equilibrium Ising magnet, the critical exponent of the revealed dissipative phase transition falls into the 2D Ising universality class. Two complementary schemes for an experimental implementation with cold Rydberg atoms are discussed.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2014

Dynamical crystallization in a low-dimensional Rydberg gas

Dominating finite-range interactions in many-body systems can lead to intriguing self-ordered phases of matter. Well known examples are crystalline solids or Coulomb crystals in ion traps. In those systems, crystallization proceeds via a classical transition, driven by thermal fluctuations. In contrast, ensembles of ultracold atoms laser-excited to Rydberg states provide a well-controlled quantum system, in which a crystalline phase transition governed by quantum fluctuations can be explored. Here we report on the experimental preparation of the crystalline states in such a Rydberg many-body system. Fast coherent control on the many-body level is achieved via numerically optimized laser excitation pulses. We observe an excitation-number staircase as a function of the system size and show directly the emergence of incompressible ordered states on its steps. Our results demonstrate the applicability of quantum optical control techniques in strongly interacting systems, paving the way towards the investigation of novel quantum phases in long-range interacting quantum systems, as well as for detailed studies of their coherence and correlation properties.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2014

Defect-induced supersolidity with soft-core bosons

More than 40 years ago, Andreev, Lifshitz, and Chester suggested the possible existence of a peculiar solid phase of matter, the microscopic constituents of which can flow superfluidly without resistance due to the formation of zero-point defects in the ground state of self-assembled crystals. Yet, a physical system where this mechanism is unambiguously established remains to be found, both experimentally and theoretically. Here we investigate the zero-temperature phase diagram of two-dimensional bosons with finite-range soft-core interactions. For low particle densities, the system is show to feature a solid phase in which zero-point vacancies emerge spontaneously and give rice to superfluid flow of particles through the crystal. This provides the first example of defects-induced, continuous-space supersolidity consistent with the Andreev-Lifshitz-Chester scenario.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2014

Rydberg-dressing of atoms in optical lattices

We study atoms in optical lattices whose electronic ground state is off-resonantly coupled to a highly excited state with strong binary interactions. We present a time-dependent treatment of the resulting quantum dynamics, which -- contrary to recent predictions [Phys. Rev. Lett. 110, 213005 (2013)] -- proves that the strong repulsion between the weakly admixed Rydberg states does not lead to atomic trap-loss. This finding provides an important basis for creating and manipulating coherent long-range interactions in optical lattice experiments.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2013

Elementary excitations of ultracold soft-core bosons across the superfluid-supersolid phase transition

We investigate the zero-temperature excitation spectrum of two-dimensional soft-core bosons for a wide range parameters and across the phase transition from a superfluid to a supersolid state. Based on mean field calculations and recent Quantum Monte Carlo results, we demonstrate the applicability of the Bogoliubov-de Gennes equations, even at high interaction strengths where the system forms an insulating cluster crystal. Interestingly, our study reveals that the maximum energy of the longitudinal phonon band in the supersolid phase connects to the maxon energy of the superfluid at the phase transition.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2012

Dissipative Many-body Quantum Optics in Rydberg Media

We develop a theoretical framework for the dissipative propagation of quantized light in interacting optical media under conditions of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT). The theory allows us to determine the peculiar spatiotemporal structure of the output of two complementary Rydberg-EIT-based light-processing modules: the recently demonstrated single-photon filter and the recently proposed single-photon subtractor, which, respectively, let through and absorb a single photon. In addition to being crucial for applications of these and other optical quantum devices, the theory opens the door to the study of exotic dissipative many-body dynamics of strongly interacting photons in nonlinear nonlocal media.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2012

Observation of mesoscopic crystalline structures in a two-dimensional Rydberg gas

The ability to control and tune interactions in ultracold atomic gases has paved the way towards the realization of new phases of matter. Whereas experiments have so far achieved a high degree of control over short-ranged interactions, the realization of long-range interactions would open up a whole new realm of many-body physics and has become a central focus of research. Rydberg atoms are very well-suited to achieve this goal, as the van der Waals forces between them are many orders of magnitude larger than for ground state atoms. Consequently, the mere laser excitation of ultracold gases can cause strongly correlated many-body states to emerge directly when atoms are transferred to Rydberg states. A key example are quantum crystals, composed of coherent superpositions of different spatially ordered configurations of collective excitations. Here we report on the direct measurement of strong correlations in a laser excited two-dimensional atomic Mott insulator using high-resolution, in-situ Rydberg atom imaging. The observations reveal the emergence of spatially ordered excitation patterns in the high-density components of the prepared many-body state. They have random orientation, but well defined geometry, forming mesoscopic crystals of collective excitations delocalised throughout the gas. Our experiment demonstrates the potential of Rydberg gases to realise exotic phases of matter, thereby laying the basis for quantum simulations of long-range interacting quantum magnets.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2011

Photon-Photon Interactions via Rydberg Blockade

We develop the theory of light propagation under the conditions of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) in systems involving strongly interacting Rydberg states. Taking into account the quantum nature and the spatial propagation of light, we analyze interactions involving few-photon pulses. We demonstrate that this system can be used for the generation of nonclassical states of light including trains of single photons with an avoided volume between them, for implementing photon-photon quantum gates, as well as for studying many-body phenomena with strongly correlated photons.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2011

Lifetimes of ultralong-range Rydberg molecules in vibrational ground and excited state

Since their first experimental observation, ultralong-range Rydberg molecules consisting of a highly excited Rydberg atom and a ground state atom have attracted the interest in the field of ultracold chemistry. Especially the intriguing properties like size, polarizability and type of binding they inherit from the Rydberg atom are of interest. An open question in the field is the reduced lifetime of the molecules compared to the corresponding atomic Rydberg states. In this letter we present an experimental study on the lifetimes of the ^3Σ(5s-35s) molecule in its vibrational ground state and in an excited state. We show that the lifetimes depends on the density of ground state atoms and that this can be described in the frame of a classical scattering between the molecules and ground state atoms. We also find that the excited molecular state has an even more reduced lifetime compared to the ground state which can be attributed to an inward penetration of the bound atomic pair due to imperfect quantum reflection that takes place in the special shape of the molecular potential.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2010

Energy absorption of quasineutral plasmas through electronic edge-modes

Ultracold quasineutral plasmas generated in the laboratory are generically inhomogeneous and ex- hibit small charge imbalances. As will be demonstrated, via a hydrodynamic theory as well as microscopic simulations, the latter lead to efficient energy absorption at the plasma boundary. This proposed "edge-mode" is shown to provide a unified explanation for observed absorption spectra measured in different experiments. Understanding the response of the electronic plasma compo- nent to weak external driving is essential since it grants experimental access to the density and temperature of ultracold plasmas.

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2007

Many-body theory of excitation dynamics in an ultracold Rydberg gas

We develop a theoretical approach for the dynamics of Rydberg excitations in ultracold gases, with a realistically large number of atoms. We rely on the reduction of the single-atom Bloch equations to rate equations, which is possible under various experimentally relevant conditions. Here, we explicitly refer to a two-step excitation-scheme. We discuss the conditions under which our approach is valid by comparing the results with the solution of the exact quantum master equation for two interacting atoms. Concerning the emergence of an excitation blockade in a Rydberg gas, our results are in qualitative agreement with experiment. Possible sources of quantitative discrepancy are carefully examined. Based on the two-step excitation scheme, we predict the occurrence of an antiblockade effect and propose possible ways to detect this excitation enhancement experimentally in an optical lattice as well as in the gas phase.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2006

Antiblockade in Rydberg excitation of an ultracold lattice gas

It is shown that the two-step excitation scheme typically used to create an ultracold Rydberg gas can be described with an effective two-level rate equation, greatly reducing the complexity of the optical Bloch equations. This allows us to solve the many-body problem of interacting cold atoms with a Monte Carlo technique. Our results reproduce the Rydberg blockade effect. However, we demonstrate that an Autler-Townes double peak structure in the two-step excitation scheme, which occurs for moderate pulse lengths as used in the experiment, can give rise to an antiblockade effect. It is observable in a lattice gas with regularly spaced atoms. Since the antiblockade effect is robust against a large number of lattice defects it should be experimentally realizable with an optical lattice created by CO$_{2}$ lasers.

physics.atom-ph↗