Pinning quantum phase transition of photons in a hollow-core fiber

Abstract

We show that a pinning quantum phase transition for photons could be observed in a hollow-core one-dimensional fiber loaded with a cold atomic gas. Utilizing the strong light confinement in the fiber, a range of different strongly correlated polaritonic and photonic states, corresponding to both strong and weak interactions can be created and probed. The key ingredient is the creation of a tunable effective lattice potential acting on the interacting polaritonic gas which is possible by slightly modulating the atomic density. We analyze the relevant phase diagram corresponding to the realizable Bose-Hubbard (weak) and sine-Gordon (strong) interacting regimes and conclude by describing the measurement process. The latter consists of mapping the stationary excitations to propagating light pulses whose correlations can be efficiently probed once they exit the fiber using available optical technologies

4 pages, 4 figures. Comments welcomed

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Cited by in corpus (9)

• Quantum simulations and many-body physics with light
• A one-dimensional ultracold medium of extreme optical depth
• Rydberg excitation of cold atoms inside a hollow core fiber
• Coherent state path integrals in the continuum
• Probing the BCS-BEC crossover with photons in a nonlinear optical fiber
• Optimal pulse propagation in an inhomogeneously gas-filled hollow-core fiber
• Realization of the driven nonlinear Schrödinger equation with stationary light
• Properties of bosons in a one-dimensional bichromatic optical lattice in the regime of the Sine-Gordon transition: a Worm Algorithm Monte Carlo study
• One-Dimensional Quench Dynamics in an Optical Lattice: sine-Gordon and Bose-Hubbard Descriptions