Multistable particle-field dynamics in cavity-generated optical lattices
Abstract
Polarizable particles trapped in a resonator-sustained optical-lattice potential generate strong position-dependent backaction on the intracavity field. In the quantum regime particles in different energy bands are connected to different intracavity light intensities and optical-lattice depths. This generates a highly nonlinear coupled particle-field dynamics. For a given pump strength and detuning, a factorizing mean-field approach predicts several self-consistent stationary solutions of strongly distinct photon numbers and motional states. Quantum Monte Carlo wavefunction simulations of the master equation confirm these predictions and reveal complex multi-modal photon-number and particle-momentum distributions. Using larger nanoparticles in such a setup thus constitutes a well-controllable playground to study nonlinear quantum dynamics and the buildup of macroscopic quantum superpositions at the quantum-classical boundary.
Cite
@article{arxiv.1503.07044,
title = {Multistable particle-field dynamics in cavity-generated optical lattices},
author = {Dominik J. Winterauer and Wolfgang Niedenzu and Helmut Ritsch},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1503.07044},
year = {2015}
}
Comments
10 pages, 9 figures