Quantum Optics Colloquium by Petru Tighineanu

 Single-photon superradiance from a quantum dot 

"Enhancing the interaction between quantum emitters and light is an ongoing quest in quantum physics. The realization of efficient photonic nanostructures has led to remarkable progress in manipulating single quanta of light and matter. Here we demonstrate another approach to enhancing light-matter interaction, single-photon superradiance, which is achieved by storing a single quantum of energy in the collective state of a weakly confining quantum dot. The confinement by the quantum dot is strong enough for it to mimic a two-level atom, yet sufficiently weak to ensure superradiance. The superradiant state is prepared deterministically with a single laser pulse and leads to the generation of a single photon with near-unity probability. Our work emphasizes the extraordinary potential of weakly confining quantum dots for improving the radiative efficiency, coherence, and quantum nonlinearities of single-photon sources that may readily be embedded in nanophotonic quantum devices."