Entanglement of unstable atoms: modifications of the emission properties

TL;DR

This paper investigates how entanglement affects atomic emission properties, demonstrating that entangled helium atom pairs exhibit different decay rates and emission characteristics compared to non-entangled states.

Contribution

It introduces a realistic scheme for preparing entangled helium atom pairs and analyzes how entanglement modifies their spontaneous emission behavior.

Findings

Entangled helium atoms have altered decay rates.

Entanglement changes the temporal emission distribution.

The lifetime of atoms is affected by entanglement.

Abstract

We analyse the influence of entanglement on the emission properties of atoms. To this end, first, we propose a scheme for the preparation of a pair of entangled Helium atoms, one in the ortho and the other in the para spin configuration. We discuss a realistic scenario for this process, based in the double ionization of He by intense laser fields. These states are used to analyse disentanglement and the role of entanglement in the spontaneous emission from the pair. In particular, we show that the decaying rate of an entangled atom is different from that in a product state, modifying the temporal emission distribution and lifetime of the atoms.