Driven-Dissipative Dynamics of Atomic Ensembles in a Resonant Cavity I: Nonequilibrium Phase Diagram and Periodically Modulated Superradiance

We study the dynamics of two ensembles of atoms (or equivalently, atomic clocks) coupled to a bad cavity and pumped incoherently by a Raman laser. Our main result is the nonequilibrium phase diagram for this experimental setup in terms of two parameters - detuning between the clocks and the repump rate. There are three main phases - trivial steady state (Phase I), where all atoms are maximally pumped, nontrivial steady state corresponding to monochromatic superradiance (Phase II), and amplitude-modulated superradiance (Phase III). Phases I and II are fixed points of the mean-field dynamics, while in most of Phase III stable attractors are limit cycles. Equations of motion possess an axial symmetry and a $\mathbb{Z}_{2}$ symmetry with respect to the interchange of the two clocks. Either one or both of these symmetries are spontaneously broken in various phases. The trivial steady state loses stability via a supercritical Hopf bifurcation bringing about a $\mathbb{Z}_{2}$-symmetric limit cycle. The nontrivial steady state goes through a subcritical Hopf bifurcation responsible for coexistence of monochromatic and amplitude-modulated superradiance. Using Floquet analysis, we show that the $\mathbb{Z}_{2}$-symmetric limit cycle eventually becomes unstable and gives rise to two $\mathbb{Z}_{2}$-asymmetric limit cycles via a supercritical pitchfork bifurcation. Each of the above attractors has its own unique fingerprint in the power spectrum of the light radiated from the cavity. In particular, limit cycles in Phase III emit frequency combs - series of equidistant peaks, where the symmetry of the frequency comb reflects the symmetry of the underlying limit cycle. For typical experimental parameters, the spacing between the peaks is several orders of magnitude smaller than the monochromatic superradiance frequency, making the lasing frequency highly tunable.