Pauli crystal superradiance

TL;DR

This paper investigates how Pauli crystals, geometric structures of non-interacting fermions, can transition to superradiance and form quantum crystalline states when coupled to a cavity, revealing a new pathway to quantum crystallization.

Contribution

It analytically and numerically demonstrates that cavity coupling induces zero-threshold superradiance and quantum crystalline states in Pauli crystals, driven by Fermi statistics and light-mediated interactions.

Findings

Degeneracy in Pauli crystals triggers zero-threshold superradiance.

Superradiance leads to a quantum crystalline state with periodic density modulation.

Numerical simulations confirm the analytical predictions.

Abstract

Pauli crystals are unique geometric structures of non-interacting fermions, resembling crystals, that emerge solely from Fermi statistics and confinement. Unlike genuine quantum crystals that arise from interparticle interactions, Pauli crystals do not break translation symmetry but nonetheless exhibit nontrivial many-body correlations. In this Letter, we explore Pauli crystal formation in a cavity-fermion setup. We analytically show that when coupled to a cavity, degeneracy in Pauli crystals can trigger zero-threshold transitions to superradiance. This superradiance is accompanied by the emergence of a genuine quantum crystalline state, wherein the atomic density is periodically modulated. We substantiate our findings using state-of-the-art numerical simulations. The combined interplay between statistics, confinement geometry and interactions mediated by light thus facilitates a novel pathway to quantum crystallization.