English

Highly nonlocal optical nonlinearities in atoms trapped near a waveguide

Quantum Physics 2016-07-08 v2 Atomic Physics Optics

Abstract

Nonlinear optical phenomena are typically local. Here we predict the possibility of highly nonlocal optical nonlinearities for light propagating in atomic media trapped near a nano-waveguide, where long-range interactions between the atoms can be tailored. When the atoms are in an electromagnetically-induced transparency configuration, the atomic interactions are translated to long-range interactions between photons and thus to highly nonlocal optical nonlinearities. We derive and analyze the governing nonlinear propagation equation, finding a roton-like excitation spectrum for light and the emergence of order in its output intensity. These predictions open the door to studies of unexplored wave dynamics and many-body physics with highly-nonlocal interactions of optical fields in one dimension.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.1412.8331,
  title  = {Highly nonlocal optical nonlinearities in atoms trapped near a waveguide},
  author = {Ephraim Shahmoon and Pjotrs Grisins and Hans Peter Stimming and Igor Mazets and Gershon Kurizki},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1412.8331},
  year   = {2016}
}

Comments

16 pages, including appendices and 5 figures

R2 v1 2026-06-22T07:45:47.406Z