Beyond Maxwell-Boltzmann statistics using confined vapor cells

TL;DR

This paper investigates the limitations of standard models predicting photon coherence times in vapor cells, demonstrating their failure at micro- and nano-scale regimes and proposing an alternative approach for ultra-thin cells.

Contribution

The study reveals the breakdown of existing models at small scales and introduces a new method for estimating coherence times in nanoscale vapor cells.

Findings

Standard models predict coherence times accurately in centimeter-scale cells.

Models fail to predict coherence times in micrometer and sub-micrometer cells.

An alternative approach improves estimation accuracy in ultra-thin vapor cells.

Abstract

Coherence time of thermal photons in rubidium vapor cells with varying thicknesses, reveal that there is clear dependence of the photon correlation time on cell thickness. Standard theoretical models accurately predict the coherence time in centimeter-scale cells. In this study we demonstrated, that these models break down in micrometer and sub-micrometer regimes. Cell sizes ranging from mm-scale down to 200 nm did not adhere to prediction based on the standard models. In order to address this shortcoming, we develop an alternative approach better suited for estimating photonic coherence times in ultra-thin vapor cells. This work, highlights the need for a modified theoretical treatment of the coherence time in the nanoscale regime.