Light atom correlation properties in a dissipative dynamical Casimir system

Abstract The dynamical Casimir effect (DCE) describes the generation of real photons from electromagnetic vacuum fluctuations. Since direct detection is experimentally challenging, we employ an ensemble of identical two-level atoms as a quantum probe to investigate this effect under realistic dissipative conditions. We adopt a zero-temperature model of a lossy cavity coupled to the atomic ensemble, explicitly incorporating cavity dissipation. Using the Lindblad master equation within the rotating-wave approximation, we derive a closed set of evolution equations for the mean photon number, the mean exciton number, and relevant quantum correlations. Numerical results show that cavity dissipation suppresses both photon generation and exciton excitation, with stronger suppression at higher dissipation strengths. In contrast, increasing the light-atom coupling strength promotes energy transfer from the cavity field to the atoms, reducing the mean photon number while significantly increasing the mean exciton number. This work provides a realistic theoretical framework for understanding and detecting the DCE in non-ideal cavity environments.