Light propagation through layered atomic arrays

OIST organizer: OIST Center for Quantum Technologies (OCQT) and Bill Munro (Quantum Engineering & Design Unit) | OIST members are welcome to attend all scientific sessions.

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Title: Light propagation through layered atomic arrays
Speaker: Dr. Lewis Ruks,  Theoretical Quantum Physics Research Group at NTT Basic Research Laboratories.
Location: Seminar Room, Lab 5, Lv D, D23
Zoom: https://oist.zoom.us/j/93958578278?pwd=S1pDMGxST2lGdU5vZ0xyTGx1YVNSQT09

Lewis Ruks [1], Kyle Ballantine [2], Janne Ruostekoski [3]

[1] NTT Basic Research Laboratories, NTT Corporation, 3-1 Morinosato Wakamiya, Atsugi, Kanagawa, 243-0198, Japan
[2] Department of Physics, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YB, United Kingdom

Metamaterials offer unique control of light, with potential applications ranging from enhanced imaging to nanoscale optical elements and beyond. However, existing bulk media can suffer from significant loss, a lack of tunability, and difficulty of numerically simulating the complex elements exactly. In this work, we consider layered arrays of atoms as a tunable, alternative platform for realising and investigating unconventional light propagation in 3D subwavelength media. We first establish a formalism allowing for the exact calculation of optical response and transmission of weak fields through many-layered arrays. Using this formalism we demonstrate high visibility transmission through feasible near-term experimental setups – including the effect of array imperfections – and develop a simple description relating the transmission statistics to in-plane band structure of the layered medium. Our work suggests atomic 3D arrays as a flexible platform for realizing high quality analogues of metamaterials and exploring fundamental mechanisms of wave propagation in subwavelength media.