Liberal Iñigo, Engheta Nader
Department of Electrical and Systems Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104.
Department of Electrical and Systems Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2017 Jan 31;114(5):822-827. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1611924114. Epub 2017 Jan 17.
Vacuum fluctuations are one of the most distinctive aspects of quantum optics, being the trigger of multiple nonclassical phenomena. Thus, platforms like resonant cavities and photonic crystals that enable the inhibition and manipulation of vacuum fluctuations have been key to our ability to control light-matter interactions (e.g., the decay of quantum emitters). Here, we theoretically demonstrate that vacuum fluctuations may be naturally inhibited within bodies immersed in epsilon-and-mu-near-zero (EMNZ) media, while they can also be selectively excited via bound eigenmodes. Therefore, zero-index structures are proposed as an alternative platform to manipulate the decay of quantum emitters, possibly leading to the exploration of qualitatively different dynamics. For example, a direct modulation of the vacuum Rabi frequency is obtained by deforming the EMNZ region without detuning a bound eigenmode. Ideas for the possible implementation of these concepts using synthetic implementations based on structural dispersion are also proposed.
真空涨落是量子光学最显著的方面之一，是多种非经典现象的触发因素。因此，诸如谐振腔和光子晶体等能够抑制和操纵真空涨落的平台，对于我们控制光与物质相互作用的能力（例如量子发射器的衰变）至关重要。在这里，我们从理论上证明，在沉浸于介电常数和磁导率接近零（EMNZ）的介质中的物体内部，真空涨落可能会自然受到抑制，而它们也可以通过束缚本征模被选择性地激发。因此，零折射率结构被提议作为操纵量子发射器衰变的替代平台，这可能会导致对性质上不同动力学的探索。例如，通过使EMNZ区域变形而不使束缚本征模失谐，可直接调制真空拉比频率。还提出了基于结构色散的合成实现方式来实施这些概念的设想。
