Collective dynamics in a laser-pumped mixture of two atomic ensembles

TL;DR

This paper explores the quantum dynamics of two atomic ensembles driven by lasers, revealing long-lasting excitation oscillations and discrete jumps influenced by inter-ensemble interactions.

Contribution

It introduces a detailed analysis of photon exchange effects leading to sustained oscillations and state jumps in a two-ensemble atomic mixture.

Findings

Long-time excitation oscillations due to photon exchange.

Discrete jumps to excited states influenced by inter-component interactions.

Oscillation durations exceed the inverse lifetime of single emitters.

Abstract

We investigate the quantum dynamics of an atomic mixture composed of two multi-atom ensembles. Each ensemble is driven separately by a coherent laser field, respectively, and dampens via the interactions with the environmental vacuum electromagnetic field reservoir. We find that, due to the photon exchange among the two components, long-time excitation oscillations appear, which may be significantly longer than the inverse lifetime of a single emitter. Furthermore, few-atom "jumps" to the excited state occur as a function of the parameter characterizing the inter-component interactions around a certain working point.