Optical engineering of vacuum effects on two-dimensional semiconductors

The resonance energy and the transition rate of atoms, molecules and solids were understood as their intrinsic properties in classical electromagnetism. With the development of quantum electrodynamics, it is realized that these quantities are linked to the coupling of the transition dipole and the quantum vacuum. Such effects can be greatly amplified in macroscopic many-body systems from virtual photon exchange between dipoles, but are often masked by inhomogeneity and pure dephasing, especially in solids. Here, we observe in both absorption and emission spectroscopy an exceptionally large renormalization of exciton resonance and radiative decay rate in transition metal dichalcogenides monolayers due to interactions with the vacuum. Tuning the vacuum energy density near the monolayer, we demonstrate control of cooperative Lamb shift, radiative decay, and valley polarization of the excitons as well as control of the charged exciton emission. Our work establishes a technologically accessible and robust experimental system for vacuum engineering of cooperative matter-light interactions.