Quantum light by atomic arrays in optical resonators

TL;DR

This paper investigates how atomic arrays coupled with optical resonators can produce controllable non-linear and quantum light, revealing conditions for different optical processes and their coherence properties.

Contribution

It identifies how to control nonlinear optical processes in atomic arrays within resonators by tuning system parameters, advancing quantum light source design.

Findings

Conditions for inelastic scattering without coherent cavity emission.

Control of non-linear processes via laser and cavity parameters.

Potential to generate antibunched and parametric amplified light.

Abstract

Light scattering by a periodic atomic array is studied when the atoms couple with the mode of a high-finesse optical resonator and are driven by a laser. When the von-Laue condition is not satified, there is no coherent emission into the cavity mode, and the latter is pumped via inelastic scattering processes. We consider this situation and identify conditions for which different non-linear optical processes can occur. We show that these processes can be controlled by suitably tuning the strength of laser and cavity coupling, the angle between laser and cavity axis, and the array periodicity. We characterize the coherence properties of the light when the system can either operate as degenerate parametric amplifier or as a source of antibunched-light. Our study permits us to identify the individual multi-photon components of the nonlinear optical response of the atomic array and the corresponding parameter regimes, thereby in principle allowing one for controlling the nonlinear optical response of the medium.