Lifetime and emission characteristics of collective electronic excitations in two-dimensional optical lattices

Journal Article · Wed Jun 15 00:00:00 EDT 2011 · Physical Review. A

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PHYSREVA.83.063831· OSTI ID:21550212

Zoubi, Hashem; Ritsch, Helmut ^[1]

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1. Institut fur Theoretische Physik, Universitat Innsbruck, Technikerstrasse 25, A-6020 Innsbruck (Austria)

Collective electronic excitations in planar optical lattices exhibit strong modifications of the radiative damping rate and directional emission pattern as compared to a single excited atom. Collective excitations for long wave numbers and polarizations orthogonal to the lattice plane exhibit superradiance with a very short lifetime and a tightly confined emission direction. For shorter wavelength and in-plane polarization, they can possess a long lifetime, which, beyond a critical wave number, tends to infinity. Those excitations thus become metastable and decoupled from the free radiation field. They can store a single energy quantum for a long time and transfer the excitation over long distances. In general the spatial, polarization, and frequency dependence of the emission pattern can provide us with optical and electronic properties of optical lattices.

• OSTI ID: 21550212
• Journal Information: Physical Review. A, Vol. 83, Issue 6; Other Information: DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevA.83.063831; (c) 2011 American Institute of Physics; ISSN 1050-2947
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS
SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY
74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS
ATOMS
COLLECTIVE EXCITATIONS
CRYSTAL LATTICES
DAMPING
FIBER OPTICS
FREQUENCY DEPENDENCE
LIFETIME
POLARIZATION
SUPERRADIANCE
TWO-DIMENSIONAL CALCULATIONS
WAVELENGTHS
CRYSTAL STRUCTURE
EMISSION
ENERGY-LEVEL TRANSITIONS
EXCITATION
OPTICS
PHOTON EMISSION
STIMULATED EMISSION