Directional Superradiant Emission from Statistically Independent Incoherent Nonclassical and Classical Sources

Oppel S, Wiegner R, Agarwal GS, von Zanthier J (2014)


Publication Status: Published

Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2014

Journal

Publisher: American Physical Society

Book Volume: 113

Article Number: 263606

Journal Issue: 26

DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.113.263606

Abstract

Superradiance has been an outstanding problem in quantum optics since Dicke introduced the concept of enhanced directional spontaneous emission by an ensemble of identical two-level atoms. The effect is based on the correlated collective Dicke states which turn out to be highly entangled. Here we show that enhanced directional emission of spontaneous radiation can be produced also with statistically independent incoherent sources, via the measurement of higher-order correlation functions of the emitted radiation. Our analysis is applicable to a wide variety of quantum emitters, like trapped atoms, ions, quantum dots, or nitrogen-vacancy centers, and is also valid for incoherent classical emitters. This is experimentally confirmed with up to eight statistically independent thermal light sources. The arrangement to measure the higher-order correlation functions corresponds to a generalized Hanbury Brown-Twiss setup, demonstrating that the two phenomena, superradiance and the Hanbury Brown-Twiss effect, stem from the same interference phenomenon.

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APA:

Oppel, S., Wiegner, R., Agarwal, G.S., & von Zanthier, J. (2014). Directional Superradiant Emission from Statistically Independent Incoherent Nonclassical and Classical Sources. Physical Review Letters, 113(26). https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.113.263606

MLA:

Oppel, Steffen, et al. "Directional Superradiant Emission from Statistically Independent Incoherent Nonclassical and Classical Sources." Physical Review Letters 113.26 (2014).

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