Many-body phases enabled by quantum optical processes

Abstract

Many-body physics and quantum optics have traditionally worked on opposite sides of the physics spectrum. Quantum optics deals with the precise quantum control of atomic, optical, and solid state systems with a small number of degrees of freedom. On the other hand, many-body physics is typically associated with the statistical behavior of condensed-matter systems containing an infinite number of constituents. However, we are now in an era where our level of control of quantum-optical systems is so precise, that we can apply it to the design of devices that implement many-body models in regimes traditionally inaccessible to condensed-matter systems, so-called quantum simulators. Here we provide evidence that the addition of particle-non-conserving processes (pumping and dissipation) to the toolbox of quantum simulators will allow them to reach elusive many-body phases such as supersolids or time crystals.