Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: While the spontaneous emission from independent emitters provides spatially uncorrelated photons-a typical manifestation of quantum randomness, the interference of the coherent scattering leads to a well-defined intensity pattern-a feature described by linear optics. We here demonstrate experimentally how the interplay between the two mechanisms in large systems of quantum emitters leads to spatial variations of photon correlations. The implementation with trapped ion crystals in free space allows us to observe the anticorrelation between photon rates and variance of the photon number distributions in chains of up to 18 ions. For smaller crystals of four ions, the transition from antibunching to bunching and super-Poissonian statistics of the scattered light is reported. For higher numbers of scatterers, the photon statistics still display a strong deviation from the fully incoherent scattering case. Our results illustrate how the interference of coherent scattering, combined with spontaneous emission, provides a control mechanism for the light statistics.
Source: Physical Review Letters
Language: English
Subfield: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,750
Funders: European Commission, Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo, Ministerstvo Školství, Mládeže a Tělovýchovy, Grantová Agentura České Republiky, Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico, Univerzita Palackého v Olomouci, QuantERA, Horizon 2020 Framework Programme, HORIZON EUROPE Framework Programme
Awards: Cold atoms, photons, and quantum correlations, Quantum non-Gaussian coherence, G2359601710, G2678520069, Light Statistics and Interference from Two-Level Emitters, G295657101, G33890887, G375632936, G4178356252, G434337789, Transport and localization of light in two and three dimensions, Localization of Light: Anderson and beyond, G5032364540, QuantERA ERA-NET Cofund in Quantum Technologies, Quantum control of trapped Rydberg ions, G6248807428, G6533712605, G6742289288, Second generation quantum technologies, G8653124682
OpenAlex ID: W4410535131