Bistable optical transmission through arrays of atoms in free space

TL;DR

This paper investigates optical bistability in free-space atomic arrays driven by resonant dipole interactions, revealing collective nonlinear effects and sharp optical property variations at higher light intensities.

Contribution

It develops a theory for intrinsic optical bistability in atomic arrays caused solely by dipole-dipole interactions, extending understanding beyond low-light regimes.

Findings

Sharp changes in extinction, reflectivity, and group delays at critical intensities

Complete extinction of incident light at certain intensities

Bistability supported purely by free-space dipole interactions

Abstract

We determine the transmission of light through a planar atomic array beyond the limit of low light intensity that displays optical bistability in the mean-field regime. We develop a theory describing the intrinsic optical bistability, which is supported purely by resonant dipole-dipole interactions in free space, showing how bistable light amplitudes exhibit both strong cooperative and weak single-atom responses and how they depend on the underlying low light intensity collective excitation eigenmodes. Similarities of the theory with optical bistability in cavities are highlighted, while recurrent light scattering between atoms takes on the role of cavity mirrors. Our numerics and analytic estimates show a sharp variation in the extinction, reflectivity, and group delays of the array, with the incident light completely extinguished up to a critical intensity well beyond the low light intensity limit. Our analysis paves a way for collective nonlinear optics with cooperatively responding dense atomic ensembles.