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Peer-reviewedCC BY-NC 4.0Science Advances

Thermalization of quantum light induced by classical nonlinear wave dynamics

  • Fouad Chahrour1,2
  • Şahin K. Özdemir3
  • Kurt Busch1,2
  • Ramy El-Ganainy3
  • Armando Perez-Leija3
  1. 1Max-Born-Institut, Max-Born-Strasse 2A, 12489 Berlin, Germany.
  2. 2Institut für Physik, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Newtonstr. 15, 12489 Berlin, Germany.
  3. 3Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Saint Louis University, St. Louis, MO 63103, USA.
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Abstract

Thermalization of isolated quantum systems is an intriguing phenomenon at the forefront of contemporary physics. In this work, we demonstrate that nonlinear multimode optical platforms can be harnessed to induce effective quantum interactions between photons. Through numerical experiments, we reveal the thermalization of quantum light, specifically single- and two-photon states, propagating alongside classical light within multimode nonlinear optical systems. This thermalization is clearly manifested by the emergence of Rayleigh-Jeans and Boltzmann statistical distributions. Beyond providing a deeper understanding of how classical nonlinearities can be used to investigate quantum many-body dynamics, our findings enable the exploration of a broader range of complex quantum phenomena, including aspects of quantum phase transitions, within readily accessible classical optical settings.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{chahrour2026thermalization,
  title = {{Thermalization of quantum light induced by classical nonlinear wave dynamics}},
  author = {Fouad Chahrour and Şahin K. Özdemir and Kurt Busch and Ramy El-Ganainy and Armando Perez-Leija},
  journal = {Science Advances},
  year = {2026},
  month = nov,
  doi = {10.1126/sciadv.aeg6518},
  url = {https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/sciadv.aeg6518},
  note = {CC BY-NC 4.0},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Thermalization of quantum light induced by classical nonlinear wave dynamics
AU  - Fouad Chahrour
AU  - Şahin K. Özdemir
AU  - Kurt Busch
AU  - Ramy El-Ganainy
AU  - Armando Perez-Leija
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/11/04
JO  - Science Advances
DO  - 10.1126/sciadv.aeg6518
UR  - https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/sciadv.aeg6518
AB  - Thermalization of isolated quantum systems is an intriguing phenomenon at the forefront of contemporary physics. In this work, we demonstrate that nonlinear multimode optical platforms can be harnessed to induce effective quantum interactions between photons. Through numerical experiments, we reveal the thermalization of quantum light, specifically single- and two-photon states, propagating alongside classical light within multimode nonlinear optical systems. This thermalization is clearly manifested by the emergence of Rayleigh-Jeans and Boltzmann statistical distributions. Beyond providing a deeper understanding of how classical nonlinearities can be used to investigate quantum many-body dynamics, our findings enable the exploration of a broader range of complex quantum phenomena, including aspects of quantum phase transitions, within readily accessible classical optical settings.
SN  - 2375-2548
ER  -