Dicke Superradiance in Ordered Lattices: Dimensionality Matters

Abstract

Dicke superradiance in ordered atomic arrays is a phenomenon where atomic synchronization gives rise to a burst in photon emission. This superradiant burst only occurs if there is one—or just a few—dominant decay channels. For a fixed atom number, this happens only below a critical interatomic distance. Here we show that array dimensionality is the determinant factor that drives superradiance. In two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) arrays, superradiance occurs due to constructive interference, which grows stronger with atom number. This leads to a critical distance that scales sublogarithmically with atom number in 2D, and as a power law in 3D. In one-dimensional arrays, superradiance occurs due to destructive interference that effectively switches off certain decay channels, yielding a critical distance that saturates with atom number. Our results provide a guide to explore many-body decay in state-of-the art experimental setups.