Cooperative single-photon subradiant states in a three-dimensional atomic array

TL;DR

This paper introduces a method to create and manipulate superradiant and subradiant states in a 3D atomic array, enabling long-lived quantum states for light storage and quantum information processing.

Contribution

It presents a comprehensive scheme to realize and control subradiant states in three-dimensional atomic arrays through phase imprinting, advancing quantum memory applications.

Findings

Subradiant states exhibit long lifetimes depending on phase imprinting.

Decay rates and Lamb shifts are highly tunable via spatial phase control.

The scheme is effective for various lattice spacings and atom numbers.

Abstract

We propose a complete superradiant and subradiant states that can be manipulated and prepared in a three-dimensional atomic array. These subradiant states can be realized by absorbing a single photon and imprinting the spatially-dependent phases on the atomic system. We find that the collective decay rates and associated cooperative Lamb shifts are highly dependent on the phases we manage to imprint, and the subradiant state of long lifetime can be found for various lattice spacings and atom numbers. We also investigate both optically thin and thick atomic arrays, which can serve for systematic studies of super- and sub-radiance. Our proposal offers an alternative scheme for quantum memory of light in a three-dimensional array of two-level atoms, which is applicable and potentially advantageous in quantum information processing.