TY - JOUR
T1 - Anomalous Behaviors of Quantum Emitters in Non-Hermitian Baths
AU - Gong, Zongping
AU - Bello, Miguel
AU - Malz, Daniel
AU - Kunst, Flore K.
N1 - Funding Information:
We acknowledge Ignacio Cirac and Yuto Ashida for helpful discussions. Z. G. is supported by the Max-Planck-Harvard Research Center for Quantum Optics (MPHQ). F. K. K. was supported by the Max-Planck-Harvard Research Center for Quantum Optics (MPHQ) before moving to MPL. M. B. and D. M. acknowledge funding from the ERC Advanced Grant QUENOCOBA under the EU Horizon 2020 program (Grant Agreement No. 742102).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 authors. Published by the American Physical Society.
PY - 2022/11/23
Y1 - 2022/11/23
N2 - Both non-Hermitian systems and the behavior of emitters coupled to structured baths have been studied intensely in recent years. Here, we study the interplay of these paradigmatic settings. In a series of examples, we show that a single quantum emitter coupled to a non-Hermitian bath displays a number of unconventional behaviors, many without Hermitian counterpart. We first consider a unidirectional hopping lattice whose complex dispersion forms a loop. We identify peculiar bound states inside the loop as a manifestation of the non-Hermitian skin effect. In the same setting, emitted photons may display spatial amplification markedly distinct from free propagation, which can be understood with the help of the generalized Brillouin zone. We then consider a nearest-neighbor lattice with alternating loss. We find that the long-time emitter decay always follows a power law, which is usually invisible for Hermitian baths. Our Letter points toward a rich landscape of anomalous quantum emitter dynamics induced by non-Hermitian baths.
AB - Both non-Hermitian systems and the behavior of emitters coupled to structured baths have been studied intensely in recent years. Here, we study the interplay of these paradigmatic settings. In a series of examples, we show that a single quantum emitter coupled to a non-Hermitian bath displays a number of unconventional behaviors, many without Hermitian counterpart. We first consider a unidirectional hopping lattice whose complex dispersion forms a loop. We identify peculiar bound states inside the loop as a manifestation of the non-Hermitian skin effect. In the same setting, emitted photons may display spatial amplification markedly distinct from free propagation, which can be understood with the help of the generalized Brillouin zone. We then consider a nearest-neighbor lattice with alternating loss. We find that the long-time emitter decay always follows a power law, which is usually invisible for Hermitian baths. Our Letter points toward a rich landscape of anomalous quantum emitter dynamics induced by non-Hermitian baths.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85143201542&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1103/PhysRevLett.129.223601
DO - 10.1103/PhysRevLett.129.223601
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 36493450
AN - SCOPUS:85143201542
VL - 129
JO - Physical Review Letters
JF - Physical Review Letters
SN - 0031-9007
IS - 22
M1 - 223601
ER -