Abstract
In quantum optics, light–matter interaction has conventionally been studied using small atoms interacting with electromagnetic fields with wavelength several orders of magnitude larger than the atomic dimensions1,2. In contrast, here we experimentally demonstrate the vastly different ‘giant atom’ regime, where an artificial atom interacts with acoustic fields with wavelength several orders of magnitude smaller than the atomic dimensions. This is achieved by coupling a superconducting qubit3 to surface acoustic waves at two points with separation on the order of 100 wavelengths. This approach is comparable to controlling the radiation of an atom by attaching it to an antenna. The slow velocity of sound leads to a significant internal time-delay for the field to propagate across the giant atom, giving rise to non-Markovian dynamics4. We demonstrate the non-Markovian character of the giant atom in the frequency spectrum as well as non-exponential relaxation in the time domain.
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Data availability
The data generated and analysed in this study are available from the corresponding authors upon reasonable request.
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Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the Knut and Alice Wallenberg foundation and by the Swedish Research Council (VR). This project has also received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement no. 642688. We acknowledge fruitful discussions with M. K. Ekström and G. Johansson.
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G.A., B.S. and T.A. contributed to the design and fabrication of devices. L.G. developed the theoretical expressions for spectra and relaxation rates. G.A. and B.S. performed the measurements. All authors contributed to discussions and the interpretation of results. P.D. supervised the project, and G.A., B.S., L.G. and P.D. contributed to the writing of the manuscript.
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Peer review information: Nature Physics thanks Adam Miranowicz and the other, anonymous, reviewer(s) for their contribution to the peer review of this work.
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Andersson, G., Suri, B., Guo, L. et al. Non-exponential decay of a giant artificial atom. Nat. Phys. 15, 1123–1127 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-019-0605-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-019-0605-6
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