Quantum-fluctuation asymmetry in multiphoton Jaynes–Cummings resonances

Abstract

We explore the statistical behavior of the light emanating from a coherently driven Jaynes–Cummings (JC) oscillator operating in the regime of multiphoton blockade with two monitored output channels causing the loss of coherence at equal rates. We do so by adopting an operational approach that draws the particle and wave aspects of the forward-scattered radiation together, building upon the relationship between quantum optical correlation functions and conditional measurements. We first derive an analytical expression of the intensity cross-correlation function at the peak of the two-photon JC resonance to demonstrate the breakdown of detailed balance. The application of the quantum trajectory theory in parallel with the quantum regression formula subsequently uncovers various aspects of temporal asymmetry in the quantum fluctuations characterizing the cascaded process through which a multiphoton resonance is established and read out. We find that monitoring different quadratures of the cavity field in conditional homodyne detection affects the times waited between successive photon counter “clicks,” which in turn trigger the sampling of the homodyne current. Despite the fact that the steady-state cavity occupation is of the order of a photon, monitoring of the developing bimodality also impacts the ratio between the emissions directed along the two decoherence channels.