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Controlled subradiance in atomic arrays

Project description

Controlling light emission from atomic clouds

When laser light hits a cloud of atoms, the photons are absorbed by the atoms and the electrons move to a higher energy level. Their return to the ground state emits a photon. However, in the case of subradiance in a cloud, the distance between each atom is smaller than the wavelength of the emitted photon, thus the emission is nullified. The electrons remain in their excited state and all the excitation energy is trapped within the system. The EU-funded CORSAIR project aims to improve the reproducibility and control of this phenomenon in 1D and 2D ordered atomic clouds.

Objective

In the CORSAIR project, I propose to study and control subradiance, namely the suppression of collective spontaneous emission, in sub-wavelength arrays of two-level atoms, using a new atomic physics platform. Understanding and controlling how an ensemble of quantum emitters collectively emits or absorbs light is vital in several areas of science and technology. However, the description of this problem is a challenge since it amounts to a dissipative quantum many-body problem. This is why I propose to develop a new experimental research direction towards the following specific objectives: (i) The building of an experimental platform able to create ordered 1D and 2D arrays of atoms with sub-wavelength spacing, and high-fidelity detection of excitations in the arrays. (ii) The selective excitation of subradiant excitations, i.e. where collective spontaneous emission is strongly suppressed. I will develop an addressing scheme to populate a subradiant state with high fidelity and perform experiments demonstrating tailored light storage and retrieval, and metrological enhancement by subradiance. (iii) The understanding of how atomic correlations can be dissipatively engineered via subradiance. I will strive to observe the fermionic correlations that are predicted to emerge from collective decay in arrays, and I will map the phase diagram of a driven two-level atomic array. These objectives will be reached by developing dedicated new tools. I will use dysprosium, an atomic species with properties that allow novel cooling and trapping schemes that I propose to use. In the rich spectrum of Dy, I will isolate a two-level system with a narrow linewidth. I will further develop a novel addressing tool, that allows to drive an array with an alternating phase profile which directly excites a subradiant excitation. I will rely on a broad transition to perform time- and position-resolved high-fidelity measurements of excitations and correlations in the two-level arrays.

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Programme(s)

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Topic(s)

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Funding Scheme

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HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants

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Call for proposal

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(opens in new window) ERC-2021-STG

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Host institution

CENTRE NATIONAL DE LA RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE CNRS
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 1 497 378,00
Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

€ 1 497 378,00

Beneficiaries (1)

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