Rydberg Photonics- Quantum Many-Body Simulator with Photons
Abstract
Background- Strong photon-photon interactions are the holy grail of quantum optics and emerging quantum photonictechnologies since it offers the prospect of photonic quantum many-body systems and quantum devices that work atthe level of single photons, such as single-photon transistors and photonic quantum gates both of which couldrevolutionize modern information technologies. Yet, due to weak photon-photon interactions in a vacuum, speciallytailored quantum materials are needed to mediate these interactions. Traditionally, non-linear materials havebeen used to make photons interact, but the relatively weak attainable nonlinearities are far below theinteractions required for quantum many-body studies and simulations with photons. In contrast, semiconductorelectron-hole pairs are particularly attractive since they can couple strongly to photons, forming hybrid halfmatterhalf-light exciton-polaritons. Besides, solid-state systems provide unprecedented capabilities forrealizing novel quantum devices due to their robustness, integrability, and scalability. However, polaritons madefrom conventional semiconductors have not been able to enter into the strongly interacting regime, and hencetheir real potential for quantum photonics remains untapped.Project goals- The polariton interaction strength can be enhanced substantially if excitons are promoted tohighly-excited electronic states with large principal quantum numbers (n), aka Rydberg excitons. This projectwill for the first time realize an exciton-polariton system that exhibits this strongly-interacting regime. Themain goal of this effort is to explore and realize the coupling of the recently-observed high-lying Rydbergexcitons in cuprous oxide to high-finesse planar microcavities. The strong Rydberg interactions between theexcitons combined with the confinement of photons in the optical cavity result in polaritons with such stronginteractions that exhibit the Rydberg polariton blockade, the hallmark of a highly non-linear and correlatedquantum optical system. An array of these strongly-interacting particles will be used to simulate novel dynamicsof out-of-equilibrium many-body quantum systems with long-range interactions.This program will introduce Rydberg excitons as unprecedented players for exploring the untapped potential ofnonlinear quantum optics at the single-particle limit. Achieving strong interaction between photons is a pathwaytoward practical applications of quantum photonics, quantum information processing, and quantum simulations.Importantly, this effort will explore the development of a scalable network of strongly correlated photons, whereinteractions between neighbors can be individually tuned. Achieving such giant single-photon nonlinearities willallow the photon-by-photon manipulation of light, unleashing the full potential of photonic quantum informationprocessing and metrology. The results of this project will not only offer an exciting prospect for exploring anovel regime of light-matter interactions and nonlinear quantum optics, but it will also open the door to novelquantum-photonics applications, including single-photon transistors, photonic quantum gates, and light-basedquantum simulators. This unprecedented level of control will go hand in hand with the scalability and robustnessof solid-state systems, which is in turn linked with advantages related to industrialization and potential largescalemanufacturing. The vision of information processing relying on single photons would set entirely newstandards for computation and communication in terms of security, speed, and energy efficiency, which wouldimmediately translate into extensive societal and daily-life benefits.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Mar 06, 2024
- Source ID
- FA95502310489
Entities
People
- Hadiseh Alaeian
Organizations
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research
- Office of the Secretary of Defense
- Purdue University