Model Theory of Enhanced Light-Matter Interaction in a PT-Symmetric Hybrid Optical Cavity

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David J. Masiello of the University of Washington is supported by an award from the Chemical Theory, Models and Computational Methods program in the Division of Chemistry to construct theoretical models describing how light and matter interact. Control of light-matter interaction is central to numerous advances in quantum communication and information, sensing, and control of chemical reactions. In this project systems called quantum emitter-photonic cavities are the subject of investigation. These systems permit accurate modeling of light-matter interactions, leading to predictive models that can be verified and refined by experiments. Broader impacts of this work include Professor Masiello's continued mentoring in several education and outreach programs, including those which promote participation of under-represented groups of minorities, women, and first generation students in STEM fields (for example, Expanding your Horizons, Introduce a Girl, MESA Day, and the Sustainable Horizons Institute). The research project itself is highly collaborative with several experimental groups testing the theoretical predictions.The results of the work may represent the next fundamental step in progressing from single emitter-cavity systems to future arrays of coupled cavities, such as those necessary for the simulation of quantum many-body phenomena. The theoretical models will provide much needed understandings of the interactions and hybridizations of the simplest possible composite optical cavities, i.e., those composed of just two resonators. This work provides a next logical step towards the fundamental understanding of complex networks of coupled cavities, which are finding utility in optical communications, computing, sensing, and the simulation of complex quantum many-body phenomena. Specific objectives of this project are to develop the analytic models necessary to rigorously describe cavity mode hybridization in a pair of coupled optical cavities beyond coupled-mode theory and to elucidate the Purcell enhanced emission of light from quantum emitters embedded at strategic locations within hybrid nanophotonic cavities. Professor Masiello will also exploit PT-symmetry in a coupled photonic cavity to control entanglement dynamics between individual quantum emitters located in each cavity.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.