Self-ordering dynamics of ultracold atoms in multicolored cavity fields

Abstract

We study light induced spatial crystallization of ultracold quantum particles confined along the axis of a high-$Q$ linear cavity via a transverse multicolor pump using numerical simulations. Whenever a pump frequency is tuned close to resonance with a longitudinal cavity mode, the dynamics favors bistable spatial particle ordering into a Bragg grating at a wavelength distance. Simultaneous pumping at several resonant frequencies fosters competition between the different spatial lattice orders, exhibiting complex nonlinear field dynamics involving several metastable atom-field states. For few particles even superpositions of different spatial orders entangled with different light mode amplitudes appear. By a proper choice of trap geometry and pump frequencies a broad variety of many particle Hamiltonians with a nontrivial long range coupling can be emulated in such a setup. When applying quantum Monte Carlo wave function simulations to study time evolution we find simultaneous super radiant scattering into several light modes and the buildup of strong non-classical atom field correlations.