Atoms near a conducting wedge: decay rates and entanglement around a corner

TL;DR

This paper investigates how sharp metallic corners influence atomic decay rates and entanglement, revealing potential applications in microscopy and devices capable of 'seeing around corners' by modifying atomic interactions near such structures.

Contribution

It introduces a theoretical analysis of atomic decay and entanglement behavior near conducting corners, highlighting novel effects of geometric sharpness on quantum systems.

Findings

Decay rates are significantly altered near corners.

Entanglement behavior is affected by corner geometry.

Potential for new microscopy and 'see around corner' devices.

Abstract

The behavior of an atomic system is influenced by introducing a metallic surface. This work explores how the decay landscape can be altered by the presence of sharp corners. We examine two scenarios: the modified spontaneous decay of a single atom, which leads us to speculate about potential applications in microscopy, and the case of a more fundamental, theoretical interest - the behavior of an entangled pair of atoms near a corner. The latter, when two atoms are positioned ``out of the line of sight'' opens up a possible line of investigation into devices which are able to ``see around corners''.