Propagating single photons from an open cavity: Description from universal quantization

TL;DR

This paper develops a first-principles approach to describe leaking single photons from open cavities, enabling precise modeling of photon propagation and shaping in quantum optics.

Contribution

It introduces an inside-outside representation derived from true modes, allowing a full Hamiltonian-based description of leaking photons, surpassing phenomenological models.

Findings

Effective Hamiltonian and Poynting vector derived from true modes.

Analysis of outgoing photon in time and frequency domains.

Design of driving fields for tailored photon pulse shapes.

Abstract

Over the last decades, quantum optics has evolved from high quality factor cavities in the early experiments toward new cavity designs involving leaky modes. Despite very reliable models, in the concepts of cavity quantum electrodynamics, photon leakage is most of the time treated phenomenologically. Here, we take a different approach, and starting from first principles, we define an inside-outside representation which is derived from the original true-mode representation, in which one can determine effective Hamiltonian and Poynting vector. Contrary to the phenomenological model, they allow a full description of a leaking single photon produced in the cavity and propagating in free space. This is applied for a laser-driven atom-cavity system. In addition, we propose an atom-cavity non-resonant scheme for single photon generation, and we rigorously analyze the outgoing single photon in time and frequency domains for different coupling regimes. Finally, we introduce a particular coupling regime ensuring adiabatic elimination for which the pulse shape of the outgoing single photon is tailored using a specifically designed driving field envelope.