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Structural phase transitions of optical patterns in atomic gases with microwave-controlled Rydberg interactions

Shi, Zeyun; Li, Weibin; Huang, Guoxiang

Structural phase transitions of optical patterns in atomic gases with microwave-controlled Rydberg interactions Thumbnail


Authors

Zeyun Shi

WEIBIN LI WEIBIN.LI@NOTTINGHAM.AC.UK
Associate Professor

Guoxiang Huang



Abstract

Spontaneous symmetry breaking and formation of self-organized structures in nonlinear systems are intriguing and important phenomena in nature. Advancing such research to new nonlinear optical regimes is of much interest for both fundamental physics and practical applications. Here we propose a scheme to realize optical pattern formation in a cold Rydberg atomic gas via electromagnetically induced transparency. We show that, by coupling two Rydberg states with a microwave field (microwave dressing), the nonlocal Kerr nonlinearity of the Rydberg gas can be enhanced significantly and may be tuned actively. Based on such nonlocal Kerr nonlinearity, we demonstrate that a plane-wave state of probe laser field can undergo a modulation instability (MI) and hence spontaneous symmetry breaking, which may result in the emergence of various self-organized optical patterns. Especially, we find that a hexagonal lattice pattern (which is the only optical pattern when the microwave dressing is absent) may develop into several types of square lattice ones when the microwave dressing is applied; moreover, as a outcome of the MI the formation of nonlocal optical solitons is also possible in the system. Different from earlier studies, the optical patterns and non-local optical solitons found here can be flexibly manipulated by adjusting the effective probe-field intensity, nonlocality degree of the Kerr nonlinearity, and the strength of the microwave field. Our work opens a route for versatile controls of self-organizations and structural phase transitions of laser light, which may have potential applications in optical information processing and transmission.

Citation

Shi, Z., Li, W., & Huang, G. (2020). Structural phase transitions of optical patterns in atomic gases with microwave-controlled Rydberg interactions. Physical Review A, 102(2), Article 023519. https://doi.org/10.1103/physreva.102.023519

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Jul 24, 2020
Online Publication Date Aug 17, 2020
Publication Date 2020-08
Deposit Date Jul 24, 2020
Publicly Available Date Aug 17, 2020
Journal Physical Review A
Print ISSN 2469-9926
Electronic ISSN 2469-9934
Publisher American Physical Society
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 102
Issue 2
Article Number 023519
DOI https://doi.org/10.1103/physreva.102.023519
Public URL https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/4784466
Publisher URL https://journals.aps.org/pra/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevA.102.023519

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