Theoretical seminar | 12 May 2021

When studying the interaction between light and matter at the quantum level, it is common to apply the dipole approximation, where atoms are assumed small compared to the wavelength of the light. However, recent experiments with superconducting qubits coupled to surface acoustic waves [1] or microwave transmission lines [2, 3] have shown that it is possible to realize ”giant atoms”, i.e., atoms that couple to light (or sound) at multiple points that are wavelengths apart. In this talk, I will present an overview [4] of theoretical and experimental work on such giant atoms. In particular, I will explain how multiple giant atoms can interact via a waveguide while remaining protected from relaxation into the waveguide [5], and show experimental data [2] demonstrating this protected interaction.

[1] Gustafsson et al., Science 346, 207 (2014)
[2] Kannan et al., Nature 583, 775 (2020)
[3] Vadiraj et al., arXiv:2003.14167
[4] Kockum, arXiv:1912.13012
[5] Kockum et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 120, 140404 (2018)