# Coherent Control of Two-Dimensional Excitons

## TL;DR

This paper demonstrates control over exciton emission linewidth in a 2D MoSe2 monolayer by using coherent optical feedback with a planar mirror, overcoming limitations of previous point dipole systems and enabling new quantum optical studies.

## Contribution

It introduces a method to coherently control exciton radiative coupling in 2D materials via mirror translation, avoiding strain or electric field effects, and explores fundamental photonic interactions in a new regime.

## Key findings

- Achieved tunable exciton linewidth from 0.9 to 2.3 meV.
- Controlled radiative coupling rate from near-zero to 1.8 meV.
- Demonstrated interferometric dependence on mirror position.

## Abstract

Electric dipole radiation can be controlled by coherent optical feedback, as has previously been studied by modulating the photonic environment for point dipoles placed both in optical cavities and near metal mirrors. In experiments involving fluorescent molecules, trapped ions and quantum dots the point nature of the dipole, its sub-unity quantum efficiency, and decoherence rate conspire to severely limit any change in total linewidth. Here we show that the transverse coherence of exciton emission in the monolayer two-dimensional (2D) material MoSe${}_2$ removes many of the fundamental physical limitations present in previous experiments. The coherent interaction between excitons and a photonic mode localized between the MoSe${}_2$ and a nearby planar mirror depends interferometrically on mirror position, enabling full control over the radiative coupling rate from near-zero to 1.8 meV and a corresponding change in exciton total linewidth from 0.9 to 2.3 meV. The highly radiatively broadened exciton resonance (a ratio of up to $3:1$ in our samples) necessary to observe this modulation is made possible by recent advances in 2D materials sample fabrication. Our method of mirror translation is free of any coupling to strain or DC electric field in the monolayer, which allows a fundamental study of this photonic effect. The weak coherent driving field in our experiments yields a mean excitation occupation number of ${\sim} 10^{-3}$ such that our experiments correspond to probing radiative reaction in the regime of perturbative quantum electrodynamics. This system will serve as a testbed for exploring new excitonic physics and quantum nonlinear optical effects.