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  • Letter
  • Open Access

Emergence of subharmonics in a microwave driven dissipative Rydberg gas

Zong-Kai Liu1,2,*,†, Kong-Hao Sun1,2,*, Albert Cabot3, Federico Carollo3, Jun Zhang1,2, Zheng-Yuan Zhang1,2, Li-Hua Zhang1,2, Bang Liu1,2, Tian-Yu Han1,2 et al.

Qing Li1,2, Yu Ma1,2, Han-Chao Chen1,2, Igor Lesanovsky3,4, Dong-Sheng Ding1,2,‡, and Bao-Sen Shi1,2

  • *These authors contributed equally to this work.
  • †Present address: Shanxi University.
  • ‡Contact author: dds@ustc.edu.cn
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Phys. Rev. Research 6, L032069 – Published 18 September, 2024

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevResearch.6.L032069

Abstract

Quantum many-body systems near phase transitions respond collectively to externally applied perturbations. We explore this phenomenon in a laser-driven dissipative Rydberg gas that is tuned to a bistable regime. Here two metastable phases coexist, which feature a low and high density of Rydberg atoms, respectively. The ensuing collective dynamics, which we monitor in situ, is characterized by stochastic collective jumps between these two macroscopically distinct many-body phases. We show that the statistics of these jumps can be controlled using a dual-tone microwave field. In particular, we find that the distribution of jump times develops peaks corresponding to subharmonics of the relative microwave detuning. Our study demonstrates the control of collective statistical properties of dissipative quantum many-body systems without the necessity of fine-tuning or of ultracold temperatures. Such robust many-body phenomena may find technological applications in sensing.

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Phys. Rev. Research 6, L032069– Published 18 September, 2024
  • Received 11 February 2024
  • Accepted 15 August 2024
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Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI.

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