Dynamic population of multiexcitation subradiant states in incoherently excited atomic arrays

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates a method to transiently generate multiexcitation subradiant states in finite atomic arrays using incoherent excitation, highlighting the role of coherent interactions and optimal initial conditions.

Contribution

It introduces a practical approach for creating multiexcitation subradiant states via incoherent driving in atomic arrays, advancing control over collective quantum states.

Findings

Maximal coupling occurs when half of the atoms are initially excited.

The emitted light's fluorescence spectrum reveals the nature of the states.

Coherent interactions can cause radiation bursts that hinder state preparation.

Abstract

The deterministic generation of multiexcitation subradiant states proves to be challenging. Here, we present a viable path towards their transient generation in finite-sized ordered arrays of dipole-dipole coupled quantum emitters, based on incoherent driving of the atomic ensemble. In particular, we show that a maximal coupling to long-lived subradiant states is achieved if only half of the atoms are initially excited. We characterize the nature of the resulting states by calculating the dynamic fluorescence spectrum of the emitted light. Finally, we elucidate the role of coherent interactions during the decay process of sufficiently dense atomic arrays, which result in a coherently driven radiation burst that leads to a subsequent reduction of the chances to prepare multiexcitation subradiant states.