We prove, by means of a unified treatment, that the superradiant phase transitions of Dicke and classical oscillator limits of simple light-matter models are indeed of the same type. We show that the mean-field approximation is exact in both cases, a
nd compute the structure and location of the transitions in parameter space. We extend this study to a fuller range of models, paying special attention to symmetry considerations. We uncover general features of the phase structure in the space of parameters of these models.
The quantum Rabi model describes the interaction between a two-level quantum system and a single bosonic mode. We propose a method to perform a quantum simulation of the quantum Rabi model introducing a novel implementation of the two-level system, p
rovided by the occupation of Bloch bands in the first Brillouin zone by ultracold atoms in tailored optical lattices. The effective qubit interacts with a quantum harmonic oscillator implemented in an optical dipole trap. Our realistic proposal allows to experimentally investigate the quantum Rabi model for extreme parameter regimes, which are not achievable with natural light-matter interactions. Furthermore, we also identify a generalized version of the quantum Rabi model in a periodic phase space.
