Quantum phase transition of two-level atoms interacting with a finite radiation field

TL;DR

This paper extends the Dicke model to include nonlinear effects and a finite maximum number of excitations, demonstrating a quantum phase transition through mean-field, symmetry, and exact quantum analyses.

Contribution

It introduces a nonlinear, group-theoretical extension of the Dicke model accounting for finite excitations and intensity-dependent coupling, revealing a quantum phase transition.

Findings

The extended model exhibits a quantum phase transition.

The transition depends on the maximum number of excitations.

Analysis confirms the transition via multiple methods.

Abstract

We introduce a group-theoretical extension of the Dicke model which describes an ensemble of two-level atoms interacting with a finite radiation field. The latter is described by a spin model whose main feature is that it possesses a maximum number of excitations. The approach adopted here leads to a nonlinear extension of the Dicke model that takes into account both an intensity dependent coupling between the atoms and the radiation field, and an additional nonlinear Kerr-like or P\"{o}sch-Teller-like oscillator term, depending on the degree of nonlinearity. We use the energy surface minimization method to demonstrate that the extended Dicke model exhibits a quantum phase transition, and we analyze its dependence upon the maximum number of excitations of the model. Our analysis is carried out via three methods: through mean-field analysis (i.e. by using the tensor product of coherent states), by using parity-preserving symmetry-adapted states (using the critical values obtained in the mean-field analysis and numerically minimizing the energy surface) and by means of the exact quantum solution (i.e. by numerically diagonalizing the Hamiltonian). Possible connections with the $qp$-deformed algebras are also discussed.