Welcome to the

Quantum Fluid of Light Lab

Our Lab explores Optics through the prism of Quantum Gases.

We create synthetic materials made of photons to study
SUPERFLUIDITY, TURBULENCE and QUANTUM SIMULATION with light.

OUR RESEARCH

MEET THE TEAM

Quentin Glorieux

Associate Professor
Quantum Physicist, Trail runner and Mountain climber.

Alberto Bramati

Professor
Italian Godfather

Maxime Jacquet

Post-Doc
Analogue Gravity Guru

Chengjie Ding

Post-Doc
Nanofiber artist

Tangui Aladjidi

PhD student
Python & Cycling Maniac

Myrann Abobaker

PhD student
Photon fluid surfer

Kevin Falque

PhD student
Chamonix ambassador

PUBLICATION NETWORK

RECENT PRE-PRINTS

Hot atomic vapors for nonlinear and quantum optics

onlinear optics has been a very dynamic field of research with spectacular phenomena discovered mainly after the invention of lasers. The combination of high intensity fields with resonant systems has further enhanced the nonlinearity with specific additional effects related to the resonances. In this paper we review a limited range of these effects which has been studied in the past decades using close-to-room-temperature atomic vapors as the nonlinear resonant medium. In particular we describe four-wave mixing (4WM) and generation of nonclassical light in atomic vapors. One-and two-mode squeezing as well as photon correlations are discussed. Furthermore, we present some applications for optical and quantum memories based on hot atomic vapors. Finally, we present results on the recently developed field of quantum fluids of light using hot atomic vapors.

Inverse energy cascade in two-dimensional quantum turbulence in a fluid of light

Turbulence in quantum fluids has, surprisingly, a lot in common with its classical counterparts, including cascade of excitations across length scales. In two dimensions, the existence of a range of length scales (the inertial range) over which kinetic energy is transferred from small to large length scales is known as an inverse energy cascade and has been observed in several classical systems from soap films to Jupiter’s atmosphere. For quantum fluids, there has been a long debate about the possibility of these inverse cascades, and while recent works suggest their existence, the microscopic mechanism is still debated and a direct experimental observation is still missing. In this work, we report a direct experimental signature of a flux of kinetic energy from small to large length scales in a quantum fluid of light and the observation of a Kolmogorov scaling law in the incompressible kinetic energy spectrum. The microscopic origin of the algebraic exponents in the energy spectrum is understood by studying the internal structure of quantized vortices within the healing length and their clustering at large length scales. Finally, we identify the statistical relationship between the inverse energy cascade and the spatial correlations of clustered vortices. These results are obtained using two counter-streaming fluids of light, which allows for a precise preparation of the initial state and the in-situ measurement of the compressible and incompressible fluid velocity. This novel platform opens exciting possibilities for the study of non-equilibrium turbulence dynamics in reduced dimensions with a controlled forcing mechanism and an homogeneous density.

Color-Tunable Mixed-Cation Perovskite Single Photon Emitters

arXiv:2207.03201 (2022)

Quantum photonics technologies like wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) for high-rate quantum key distribution require narrowband, spectrally tunable single photon emitters. Physical methods that rely on the application of large mechanical strain to epitaxial quantum dots or electric and magnetic fields to color centers in 2D metal dichalcogenides provide limited spectral tunability. Here we adopt a chemical approach to synthesize a family of colloidal mixed-cation perovskite quantum dots (Cs1−xFAxPbBr3) that show highly photo-stable, compositionally tunable single photon emission at room temperature – spanning more than 30 nm in the visible wavelength spectral range. We find that, tailoring the stoichiometry of the organic formamidinium (FA) cation in all-inorganic cesium lead bromide (CsPbBr3) perovskite quantum dots detunes the electronic band structure while preserving their excellent single photon emission characteristics. We argue that the mixed-cation perovskite quantum dots studied in this work offer a new platform for the realization of color-tunable single photon emitters that could be readily integrated in a diversity of quantum photonic devices.

Transit effects for non-linear index measurement in hot atomic vapors

Hot atomic vapors are widely used in non-linear and quantum optics due to their large Kerr non-linearity. While the linear refractive index and the transmission are precisely measured and well modeled theoretically, similar characterization remains partial for the χ(3) non-linear part of the susceptibility. In this work, we present a set of tools to measure and estimate numerically the non-linear index of hot atomic vapors both in the steady state and during the transient response of the medium. We apply these techniques for the characterization of a hot vapor of rubidium and we evidence the critical role played by transit effects, due to finite beam sizes, in the measurement of the non-linear index.

Interplay between the Hawking effect and the quasi-normal modes of a one-dimensional sonic horizon in a polariton fluid

arXiv:2110.14452 (2021)

Analogue gravity enables the laboratory study of the Hawking effect, correlated emission at the horizon. Here, we use a quantum fluid of polaritons as a setup to study the statistics of correlated emission. Dissipation in the system may quench quasi-normal modes of the horizon, thus modifying the horizon structure. We numerically compute the spectrum of spatial correlations and find a regime in which the emission is strongly enhanced while being modulated by the quasi-normal modes. The high signal-to-noise ratio we obtain makes the experimental observation of these effects possible, thus enabling the quantitative study of the influence of dissipation and of higher order corrections to the curvature on quantum emission.

BIBLIOMETRY

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NEWS

classic
October 2023
New Phd and Master positions (ERC funded)
Photons are great carriers of information but they usually don’t interact with one another. Atoms…
classic
April 2023
ERC funded Postdoc fellowship
Postdoctoral Fellowship (2 to 4 years) on Quantum Fluids of light
classic
March 2023
Ski Touring in les Houches
And even some time during the workshop to go ski touring with Patrizia Vignolo !…
event
March 2023
Wonderfull workshop this week in Les Houches on 1D/2D quantum gases
http://leshouches2023.quantumoptics.fr, thanks to the support of @AgenceRecherche QuantumSOPHA
grant
January 2023
ERC Consolidator Grant 2022
Very happy to be on the ERC Consolidator list with a project on Quantum Phase…
event
December 2022
Workshop on Physical Application in Cambridge
A nice workshop in Cambridge (near the Newton’s apple tree) with the non-linear waves community !
publication
November 2022
Observation of turbulence in a photon fluid
We observe an inverse energy cascade in a 2D quantum fluid of light.
event
October 2022
The team is at Lille for GDR Quantum Gases
Conference on Quantum Gases
event
October 2022
Tangui’s talk at ECAMP is online
A short (15 minutes) video of our work presented by Tangui Aladjidi in ECAMP14 at…
event
September 2022
3 Invited talks for the group at the EOSAM conference in Porto
The European Optical Society Annual Meeting, EOSAM, is a major international scientific conference covering all…
publication
September 2022
Our new PRL has been selected as Editor Suggestion
Congratulations to Murad, Tom and Nicolas or this great work on BKT physics in paraxial…
grant
July 2022
New ANR on hollow core fiber.
We have been awarded the ANR PRCE grant for the FOLIO project.
publication
June 2022
The universe in a rubidium cell
Our work on analogue cosmological particule is published in Nature Comm
grant
November 2021
ANR Quantum SOPHA is starting soon
Quantum Simulators for One-dimensional systems with PHotons and Atoms
event
September 2021
Our master students have graduated.
Congratulations to Guillaume Brochier, Myrann Abobaker and Kevin Falque for graduating their Master.
publication
September 2021
Our new PRL is online
Bragg spectroscopy is now possible in fluids of light.
event
May 2021
Les Houches school session is now over
Welcome to the Houches Quantum Information Spring School, From May 2nd to 13, we organized…