Photon number statistics uncover the fluctuations in non-equilibrium lattice dynamics
Abstract
Fluctuations of the atomic positions are at the core of a large class of unusual material properties ranging from quantum para-electricity to high temperature superconductivity. Their measurement in solids is the subject of an intense scientific debate focused on seeking a methodology capable of establishing a direct link between the variance of the atomic displacements and experimentally measurable observables. Here we address this issue by means of non-equilibrium optical experiments performed in shot-noise-limited regime. The variance of the time-dependent atomic positions and momenta is directly mapped into the quantum fluctuations of the photon number of the scattered probing light. A fully quantum description of the non-linear interaction between photonic and phononic fields is benchmarked by unveiling the squeezing of thermal phonons in α-quartz.
- Publication:
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Nature Communications
- Pub Date:
- December 2015
- DOI:
- 10.1038/ncomms10249
- arXiv:
- arXiv:1507.04148
- Bibcode:
- 2015NatCo...610249E
- Keywords:
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- Quantum Physics;
- Condensed Matter - Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics;
- Physics - Optics
- E-Print:
- 7 pages (main text), 5 figures, 11 pages (supplementary information)