Quantum correlations of an atomic ensemble via a classical bath

Abstract

Somewhat surprisingly, quantum features can be extracted from a classical bath. For this, we discuss a sample of three-level atoms in ladder configuration interacting only via the surrounding bath, and show that the fluorescence light emitted by this system exhibits non-classical properties. Typical realizations for such an environment are thermal baths for microwave transition frequencies, or incoherent broadband fields for optical transitions. In a small sample of atoms, the emitted light can be switched from sub- to super-poissonian and from anti-bunching to super-bunching controlled by the mean number of atoms in the sample. Larger samples allow to generate super-bunched light over a wide range of bath parameters and thus fluorescence light intensities. We also identify parameter ranges where the fields emitted on the two transitions are correlated or anti-correlated, such that the Cauchy-Schwarz inequality is violated. As in a moderately strong baths this violation occurs also for larger numbers of atoms, such samples exhibit mesoscopic quantum effects.