Rabi model beyond the rotating wave approximation: generation of photons from vacuum through decoherence

TL;DR

This paper investigates how the combination of antirotating terms and atomic dephasing in the Rabi model can generate photons from vacuum, highlighting a novel decoherence-induced photon production mechanism.

Contribution

It demonstrates that damping and dephasing combined with antirotating terms cause vacuum photon generation, extending understanding beyond the rotating wave approximation.

Findings

Photon generation from vacuum due to decoherence effects.

Antirotating terms combined with dephasing lead to linear asymptotic photon production.

The phenomenon's relevance in realistic experimental setups is estimated.

Abstract

We study numerically the dynamics of the Rabi Hamiltonian, describing the interaction of a single cavity mode and a two-level atom without the rotating wave approximation, subjected to damping and dephasing reservoirs included via usual Lindblad superoperators in the master equation. We show that the combination of the antirotating term and the atomic dephasing leads to linear asymptotic photons generation from vacuum. We reveal the origins of the phenomenon and estimate its importance in realistic situations.