Tunable Chiral Bound States with Giant Atoms

Atom-photon dressed states in a waveguide-QED system with multiple giant atoms

We study the properties of bound states in waveguide-QED systems consisting of multiple giant atoms coupled to a coupled-resonator waveguide. Based on the general analytical expressions for these states and the corresponding energy spectra, we analyze in detail the threshold conditions for the appearance of bound states and the photon-mediated interactions between dressed atoms for different configurations. In addition, when multiple giant atoms are coupled to the waveguide, different types of interacting atomic chain can be obtained by manipulating the coupling configurations. Accordingly, the energy spectra of the bound states form metaband structures in the photonic band gaps. This makes the system a useful platform for quantum simulation and quantum information processing.

Controlling atom-photon bound states in a coupled resonator array with a two-level quantum emitter

We consider a one-dimensional (1D) coupled-resonator array (CRA), where a two-level quantum emitter (2LE) is electric-dipole coupled to the modes of two adjacent resonators. We investigate the energy spectrum, the photon probability distribution of the bound states, and the emission process of the 2LE into the CRA vacuum. A quantum phase transition is found which is characterized by the change of the number of the out-of-band discrete levels. The condition for this change is also presented. The photon wave functions of bound states are found to be asymmetry around the position of the 2LE when the coupling strengths between the 2LE and the resonator are not equal, and they have the same preferred directions which are primarily determined by the larger one among the coupling strengths. The presence of the atom-photon bound states is manifested in the form of a stationary oscillation or a non-vanishing constant in the long enough time.

Nonreciprocal excitation and entanglement dynamics of two giant atoms mediated by a waveguide

We study the nonreciprocal excitation and entanglement dynamics of two giant atoms (GAs) coupling to a one-dimensional waveguide. With different positions of coupling points, three configurations of two separate GAs, two braided GAs, and two nested GAs are analyzed, respectively. The coupling strengths between different coupling points are considered as complex numbers with phases. For each coupling configuration, the nonreciprocal excitation dynamics and entanglement properties, which results from the phase differences of coupling strength and the phase induced by photon propagation between the two coupling points, are studied both in Markovian and non-Markovian regimes. The analytical solutions for nonreciprocal entanglement degree are given in the Markovian regime. It shows that the steady entanglement can be reached and strongly depends on the phases. Different from the case of the Markovian regime, the entanglement degree shows oscillating behavior in the non-Markovian regime. This work may find applications in the generation and controlling of entanglement in quantum networks based on waveguide quantum electrodynamics.

Frequency tunable single photon diode based on giant atom coupling to a waveguide

The single photon scattering properties in a waveguide coupling to a giant atom with a three-level system are investigated theoretically. One of the transitions of the giant atom couples to the waveguide at two points while the other one is driven by a classical field. Using the analytical expressions of the single photon scattering amplitudes, the conditions for realizing perfect single photon nonreciprocal scattering are discussed in both Markovian regime and non-Markovian regime. In the Markovian regime, the perfect non-reciprocity can be realized by adjusting the external classical field, the energy dissipation of the giant atom, the phase difference between the two coupling strengths and the accumulated phase resulting from the photon propagating between the two coupling points. In the non-Markovian regime, the non-reciprocal scattering phenomenon becomes more abundant due to the time delay. However, the analytical results show that the perfect non-reciprocity can still be achieved. When the incident photon is resonant with the giant atom, the nonreciprocity can be switched by controlling the classical field. For the non-resonant single photon, one can adjust the Rabi frequency of the classical field to obtain the perfect non-reciprocal single photon transmission. Our work provides a manner to realize a frequency tunable single photon diode.

Controlling photons by phonons via giant atom in a waveguide QED setup

We investigate the single photon scattering in a phonon-photon hybrid system in the waveguide quantum electrodynamics (QED) scheme. In our consideration, an artificial giant atom, which is dressed by the phonons in a surface acoustic wave resonator, interacts with a coupled resonator waveguide (CRW) nonlocally via two connecting sites. Together with the interference effect by the nonlocal coupling, the phonon serves as a controller to the transport of the photon in the waveguide. On the one hand, the coupling strength between the giant atom and the surface acoustic wave resonator modulates the width of the transmission valley or window in the near resonant regime. On the other hand, the two reflective peaks induced by the Rabi splitting degrade into a single one when the giant atom is large detuned from the surface acoustic resonator, which implies an effective dispersive coupling. Our study paves the way for the potential application of giant atoms in the hybrid system.

Few-photon isolation in a one-dimensional waveguide using chiral quantum coupling

We investigated the transmission of single and two photons in a one-dimensional waveguide that is coupled with a Kerr micro-ring resonator and a polarized quantum emitter. In both cases, a phase shift occurs, and the non-reciprocal behavior of the system is attributed to the unbalanced coupling between the quantum emitter and the resonator. Our analytical solutions and numerical simulations demonstrate that the nonlinear resonator scattering causes the energy redistribution of the two photons through the bound state. When the system is in the two-photon resonance state, the polarization of the correlated two photons is locked to their propagation direction, leading to non-reciprocity. As a result, our configuration can act as an optical diode.

Generation of Maximally Entangled Long-Lived States with Giant Atoms in a Waveguide

In this Letter, we show how to efficiently generate entanglement between two artificial giant atoms with photon-mediated interactions in a waveguide. Taking advantage of the adjustable decay processes of giant atoms into the waveguide and of the interference processes, spontaneous sudden birth of entanglement can be strongly enhanced with giant atoms. Highly entangled states can also be generated in the steady-state regime when the system is driven by a resonant classical field. We show that the statistics of the light emitted by the system can be used as a witness of the presence of entanglement in the system, since giant photon bunching is observed close to the regime of maximal entanglement. Given the degree of quantum correlations incoherently generated in this system, our results open a broad avenue for the generation of quantum correlations and manipulation of photon statistics in systems of giant atoms.

Giant spin ensembles in waveguide magnonics

The dipole approximation is usually employed to describe light-matter interactions under ordinary conditions. With the development of artificial atomic systems, 'giant atom' physics is possible, where the scale of atoms is comparable to or even greater than the wavelength of the light they interact with, and the dipole approximation is no longer valid. It reveals interesting physics impossible in small atoms and may offer useful applications. Here, we experimentally demonstrate the giant spin ensemble (GSE), where a ferromagnetic spin ensemble interacts twice with the meandering waveguide, and the coupling strength between them can be continuously tuned from finite (coupled) to zero (decoupled) by varying the frequency. In the nested configuration, we investigate the collective behavior of two GSEs and find extraordinary phenomena that cannot be observed in conventional systems. Our experiment offers a new platform for 'giant atom' physics.

Few-photon optical diode in a chiral waveguide

We study the coherent transport of one or two photons in a one-dimensional waveguide chirally coupled to a nonlinear resonator. Analytic solutions of the one-photon and two-photon scattering is derived. Although the resonator acts as a non-reciprocal phase shifter, light transmission is reciprocal at one-photon level. However, the forward and reverse transmitted probabilities for two photons incident from either the left side or the right side of the nonlinear resonator are nonreciprocal due to the energy redistribution of the two-photon bound state. Hence, the nonlinear resonator acts as an optical diode at two-photon level.

Tunable single photon nonreciprocal scattering based on giant atom-waveguide chiral couplings

We theoretically investigate the single photon scattering properties in a waveguide chirally coupling to a giant atom. The single photon transmission spectrum depends on the direction of the single photon incident when the energy loss of the giant atom can not be neglected. The difference between the transmission probabilities corresponding to opposite transport direction ΔT is calculated. It shows that both of the position and width of the ΔT are dependent on the size of the giant atom. Furthermore, the position of the maximum ΔT and the frequency width of ΔT can be modulated by a classical laser beam. Our results will be beneficial to control single photons in quantum devices design involving giant atoms.

Photon transport and interference of bound states in a one-dimensional waveguide

We study the coherent scattering process of photons in two waveguides chiral coupling to a Λ-type three-level system (3LS). The 3LS acts as a few-photon router that can direct photons with unity. By adjusting the classical field applied to the 3LS, the tunneling paths between two waveguides can be turned off and on, but two photons can not be routed simultaneously from one port of the incident waveguide to an arbitrarily selected port of the other waveguide. Moreover, driven field controls the number of the bi-photon bound states and the interference pattern of the bi-photon bound states.

Giant atom-mediated single photon routing between two waveguides

In this work, the single photon scattering due to a giant atom coupled with a pair of waveguides is investigated theoretically. Using the real-space Hamiltonian, four scattering amplitudes are obtained, and the single photon routing properties are studied. Calculations reveal that the single photon routing properties are strongly dependent on the size of the giant atom. The possible physical mechanism is also discussed. To improve routing efficiency, the configuration where one waveguide is terminated is further studied. The calculated results indicate that an incident photon can be transferred to the other waveguide with unit efficiency by choosing the appropriate configuration for a fixed size of the giant atom. Our results may be used in quantum information processing and design quantum devices at single-photon level.

Light-Matter Interactions in Synthetic Magnetic Fields: Landau-Photon Polaritons

We study light-matter interactions in two-dimensional photonic systems in the presence of a spatially homogeneous synthetic magnetic field for light. Specifically, we consider one or more two-level emitters located in the bulk region of the lattice, where for increasing magnetic field the photonic modes change from extended plane waves to circulating Landau levels. This change has a drastic effect on the resulting emitter-field dynamics, which becomes intrinsically non-Markovian and chiral, leading to the formation of strongly coupled Landau-photon polaritons. The peculiar dynamical and spectral properties of these quasiparticles can be probed with state-of-the-art photonic lattices in the optical and the microwave domain and may find various applications for the quantum simulation of strongly interacting topological models.