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The quantum-optical Josephson interferometer

Nature Physics volume 5, pages 281–284 (2009)Cite this article

Abstract

The photon-blockade effect, where nonlinearities at the single-photon level alter the quantum statistics of light emitted from a cavity1, has been observed in cavity quantum electrodynamics experiments with atomic2,3 and solid-state systems4,5,6,7,8. Motivated by the success of single-cavity quantum electrodynamics experiments, the focus has recently shifted to the exploration of the rich physics promised by strongly correlated quantum-optical systems in multicavity and extended photonic media9,10,11,12,13,14. Even though most cavity quantum electrodynamics structures are inherently dissipative, most of the early work on strongly correlated photonic systems has assumed cavity structures where losses are essentially negligible. Here we investigate a dissipative quantum-optical system that consists of two coherently driven linear optical cavities connected through a central cavity with a single-photon nonlinearity (an optical analogue of the Josephson interferometer). The interplay of tunnelling and interactions is analysed in the steady state of the system, when a dynamical equilibrium between driving and losses is established. Strong photonic correlations can be identified through the suppression of Josephson-like oscillations of the light emitted from the central cavity as the nonlinearity is increased. In the limit of a single nonlinear cavity coupled to two linear waveguides, we show that photon-correlation measurements would provide a unique probe of the crossover to the strongly correlated regime.

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Figure 1: The systems under consideration.
Figure 2: Numerical solutions for the three-cavity system.
Figure 3: Numerical solutions for the waveguide-coupled limit.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge discussions with I. Carusotto, C. Ciuti and S. De Liberato. This work was partly supported by NCCR Quantum Photonics. D.G. acknowledges financial support from Fondazione Cariplo. A.I. acknowledges financial support from an ERC Advanced Investigator grant. R.F. acknowledges financial support from EUROSQIP.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Quantum Electronics, ETH Zurich, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland

    Dario Gerace, Hakan E. Türeci & Atac Imamoglu

  2. CNISM and Dipartimento di Fisica ‘A. Volta’, Università di Pavia, 27100 Pavia, Italy

    Dario Gerace

  3. NEST CNR-INFM and Scuola Normale Superiore, Piazza dei Cavalieri 7, 56126 Pisa, Italy

    Vittorio Giovannetti & Rosario Fazio

  4. International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA), via Beirut 2–4, 34014 Trieste, Italy

    Rosario Fazio

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  1. Dario Gerace
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  2. Hakan E. Türeci
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Correspondence to Dario Gerace.

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Gerace, D., Türeci, H., Imamoglu, A. et al. The quantum-optical Josephson interferometer. Nature Phys 5, 281–284 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/nphys1223

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