Master equation approach for interacting slow- and stationary-light polaritons

TL;DR

This paper introduces a master equation approach to model dark-state polaritons in atomic media, capturing interactions and losses under electromagnetically induced transparency, and reveals a new loss mechanism affecting stationary-light polaritons.

Contribution

It presents a novel master equation framework for describing polariton interactions and losses, including dissipation effects, in EIT media.

Findings

Loss mechanisms for stationary-light polaritons are identified.

Polariton losses can be significantly higher in non-degenerate ground state configurations.

The approach enables studying dissipation-induced correlations in polariton systems.

Abstract

A master equation approach for the description of dark-state polaritons in coherently driven atomic media is presented. This technique provides a description of light-matter interactions under conditions of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) that is well suited for the treatment of polariton losses. The master equation approach allows us to describe general polariton-polariton interactions that may be conservative, dissipative or a mixture of both. In particular, it enables us to study dissipation-induced correlations as a means for the creation of strongly correlated polariton systems. Our technique reveals a loss mechanism for stationary-light polaritons that has not been discussed so far. We find that polariton losses in level configurations with non-degenerate ground states can be a multiple of those in level schemes with degenerate ground states.