Collective effects in the photon statistics of thermal atomic ensembles

We investigate the collective scattering of coherent light from a thermal alkali-metal vapor with temperatures ranging from 350 to 450 K, corresponding to average atomic spacings between 0.7 lambda and 0.1 lambda. We develop a theoretical model treating the atomic ensemble as coherent, interacting, radiating dipoles. We show that the two-time second-order correlation function of a thermal ensemble can be described by an average of randomly positioned atomic pairs. Our model illustrates good qualitative agreement with the experimental results. Furthermore, we show how fine-tuning of the experimental parameters may make it possible to explore several photon statistics regimes.

Automated summary

The study investigates the collective scattering of coherent light from thermal alkali-metal vapor and develops a theoretical model to describe this phenomenon. The model, treating the atomic ensemble as radiating dipoles, shows good qualitative agreement with experimental results and suggests the possibility of exploring different photon statistics regimes through fine-tuning of experimental parameters.