Transmon in a semi-infinite high-impedance transmission line -- appearance of cavity modes and Rabi oscillations

TL;DR

This paper explores how a superconducting artificial atom interacts with a high-impedance transmission line and a mirror, revealing cavity modes and Rabi oscillations due to strong coupling effects.

Contribution

It demonstrates the emergence of cavity modes and Rabi oscillations in a semi-infinite high-impedance transmission line coupled to a superconducting atom, a novel regime of light-matter interaction.

Findings

Observation of cavity modes between the atom and mirror

Detection of Rabi oscillations in spontaneous emission

Identification of strong coupling effects in high-impedance environment

Abstract

In this letter, we investigate the dynamics of a single superconducting artificial atom capacitively coupled to a transmission line with a characteristic impedance comparable or larger than the quantum resistance. In this regime, microwaves are reflected from the atom also at frequencies far from the atom's transition frequency. Adding a single mirror in the transmission line then creates cavity modes between the atom and the mirror. Investigating the spontaneous emission from the atom, we then find Rabi oscillations, where the energy oscillates between the atom and one of the cavity modes.