Creation of collective many-body states and single photons from two-dimensional Rydberg lattice gases

TL;DR

This paper explores how to generate collective many-body quantum states and single photons using a two-dimensional Rydberg lattice gas, leveraging strong laser excitation and van-der-Waals interactions for potential quantum information applications.

Contribution

It introduces a method to create and analyze collective many-body states in a 2D Rydberg lattice gas under strong laser driving, with implications for deterministic single-photon sources.

Findings

Approximate calculation of low-lying many-particle states using a quadratic Hamiltonian.

Identification of conditions for generating single-photon states from the lattice.

Analysis of how lattice geometry influences photon properties.

Abstract

The creation of collective many-body quantum states from a two-dimensional lattice gas of atoms is studied. Our approach relies on the van-der-Waals interaction that is present between alkali metal atoms when laser excited to high-lying Rydberg s-states. We focus on a regime in which the laser driving is strong compared to the interaction between Rydberg atoms. Here energetically low-lying many-particle states can be calculated approximately from a quadratic Hamiltonian. The potential usefulness of these states as a resource for the creation of deterministic single-photon sources is illustrated. The properties of these photon states are determined from the interplay between the particular geometry of the lattice and the interatomic spacing.