Symmetry breaking and non-ergodicity in a driven-dissipative ensemble of multi-level atoms in a cavity

Enrique Hernandez, Elmer Suarez, Igor Lesanovsky +3

Dissipative light-matter systems can display emergent collective behavior. Here, we report a ${\mathbb{Z}}_2$-symmetry-breaking phase transition in a system of multi-level ${}^{87}$Rb…