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NUCLEAR PHYSICS

Quantum optics with X-rays

Nature Photonics volume 11, pages 685–686 (2017)Cite this article

The demonstration of strong coupling between two nuclear polariton modes in the X-ray spectral region using two coupled cavities each containing a thin layer of iron brings new opportunities for exploring quantum science.

The study of the interaction of light (optical photons with energy on the order of ~1 eV) with resonant electronic transitions in atoms has led to the development of many important quantum-based devices, such as lasers, atomic clocks and supersensitive miniature magnetometers, to name just a few. It is also driving the development of quantum cryptography and computing. However, in the future, harnessing the interaction between atoms and hard X-ray photons with a far larger energy on the order of 10 keV may be advantageous. X-ray photons are easy to detect, can be focused to much smaller spot sizes, can penetrate more deeply into materials and, in principle, can support faster information processing because of their higher frequencies. Such X-ray photons can resonantly interact with the nuclear transitions of atoms. An advantage of interactions based on nuclear transitions over electronic transitions is that nuclear transitions have narrow, lifetime-broadened spectral linewidths in the bulk solids at room temperature. These desirable properties are due to the large mass and small size of nuclei, as well as the possibility for recoilless absorption of gamma rays and X-rays (the Mössbauer effect). At present, the workhorse system for studies in the area is a very narrow (linewidth on the order of 1 MHz) room-temperature Mössbauer nuclear transition at 14.4 keV in the nuclei of 57Fe atoms.

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Fig. 1: A two-mode cavity is made from layers of palladium and carbon and contains two thin iron layers.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Quantum Studies and Engineering and Department of Physics and Astronomy, Texas A&M University, Mitchell Physics Building IQSE 566B, College Station, TX, 77843-4242, USA

    Elena Kuznetsova & Olga Kocharovskaya

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  1. Elena Kuznetsova
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  2. Olga Kocharovskaya
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Correspondence to Olga Kocharovskaya.

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Kuznetsova, E., Kocharovskaya, O. Quantum optics with X-rays. Nature Photon 11, 685–686 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41566-017-0034-y

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