Highly nonlocal optical nonlinearities in atoms trapped near a waveguide

TL;DR

This paper predicts highly nonlocal optical nonlinearities in atomic media near a waveguide, enabling new wave dynamics and many-body physics studies through long-range atom-photon interactions.

Contribution

It introduces a theoretical framework for nonlocal nonlinearities in atom-waveguide systems, revealing roton-like spectra and emergent order in light propagation.

Findings

Prediction of highly nonlocal nonlinearities in atomic waveguide systems

Derivation of a nonlinear propagation equation with roton-like spectrum

Potential for exploring new wave dynamics and many-body physics

Abstract

Nonlinear optical phenomena are typically local. Here we predict the possibility of highly nonlocal optical nonlinearities for light propagating in atomic media trapped near a nano-waveguide, where long-range interactions between the atoms can be tailored. When the atoms are in an electromagnetically-induced transparency configuration, the atomic interactions are translated to long-range interactions between photons and thus to highly nonlocal optical nonlinearities. We derive and analyze the governing nonlinear propagation equation, finding a roton-like excitation spectrum for light and the emergence of order in its output intensity. These predictions open the door to studies of unexplored wave dynamics and many-body physics with highly-nonlocal interactions of optical fields in one dimension.