Superabsorption in an organic microcavity: Toward a quantum battery

The rate at which matter emits or absorbs light can be modified by its environment, as markedly exemplified by the widely studied phenomenon of superradiance. The reverse process, superabsorption, is harder to demonstrate because of the challenges of probing ultrafast processes and has only been seen for small numbers of atoms. Its central idea—superextensive scaling of absorption, meaning larger systems absorb faster—is also the key idea underpinning quantum batteries. Here, we implement experimentally a paradigmatic model of a quantum battery, constructed of a microcavity enclosing a molecular dye. Ultrafast optical spectroscopy allows us to observe charging dynamics at femtosecond resolution to demonstrate…

• AC
  ARC Centre for Nanoscale BioPhotonics
• RL
  Regione Lombardia
• EA
  Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council

  Awards: EP/L015110/1, EP/R513313/1, EP/M025330/1, EP/T01377X/1, EP/M025330, EP/M025330/1