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arXiv:2109.05449 · Physical Review Research

Nonreciprocal frequency conversion with chiral Λ -type atoms

Lei Du, Yao-Tong Chen, Yong Li

Published Dec 29, 2021• 67 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

In this paper, we begin with a model of a $\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Lambda}}$-type atom whose both transitions are chirally coupled to a wave guide and then extend the model to its giant-atom version. We investigate the single-photon scatterings of the giant-atom model in both the Markovian and the non-Markovian regimes. It is shown that the chiral atom-wave-guide couplings enable nonreciprocal, reflectionless, and efficient frequency conversion, while the giant-atom structure introduces intriguing interference effects to the scattering behaviors, such as ultranarrow scattering windows. The chiral giant-atom model exhibits quite different scattering spectra in the two regimes and, in particular, demonstrates non-Markovicity-induced nonreciprocity under specific conditions. These phenomena can be understood from the effective detuning and decay rate of the giant-atom model. We believe that our results have potential applications in integrated photonics and quantum network engineering.

DOI
10.1103/physrevresearch.3.043226

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In this paper, we begin with a model of a \ensuremathΛ\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Lambda}}\ensuremathΛ-type atom whose both transitions are chirally coupled to a wave guide and then extend the model to its giant-atom version. We investigate the single-photon scatterings of the giant-atom model in both the Markovian and the non-Markovian regimes. It is shown that the chiral atom-wave-guide couplings enable nonreciprocal, reflectionless, and efficient frequency conversion, while the giant-atom structure introduces intriguing interference effects to the scattering behaviors, such as ultranarrow scattering windows. The chiral giant-atom model exhibits quite different scattering spectra in the two regimes and, in particular, demonstrates non-Markovicity-induced nonreciprocity under specific conditions. These phenomena can be understood from the effective detuning and decay rate of the giant-atom model. We believe that our results have potential applications in integrated photonics and quantum network engineering.
In this work, we utilize a two-level atom and a $\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Lambda}}$-type atom to link two identical waveguides, subsequently extending the model to a giant-atom configuration. Our analytical solutions and numerical simulations demonstrate that this setup can achieve single-photon isolation and nonreciprocal frequency conversion by tuning the atom-waveguide coupling strengths gi{g}_{i}gi​, respectively. We also examine single-photon scattering in the giant-atom model within both the Markovian and non-Markovian regimes. The results reveal that ultranarrow scattering windows are induced by the phases ${\ensuremath{\phi}}_{1}$ and ${\ensuremath{\phi}}_{2}$ under specific conditions, making them well suited for precise frequency conversion and sensing. Additionally, in the non-Markovian regime, the spectra exhibit irregular polygonal shapes, offering enhanced opportunities for exploring nonreciprocal frequency conversion in the off-resonant regime. Our work provides an alternative perspective on achieving optical nonreciprocity at the single-photon level in atom-waveguide systems.
Abstract We investigate the single-photon scattering properties of a driven three-level giant atom chirally coupled to two waveguides simultaneously in both the Markovian and the non-Markovian regimes. It is shown that under the Markovian limit, the chiral photon-atom interactions enable nonreciprocal scattering in a single waveguide and targeted photon routing with a probability of 100% in two waveguides, while the presence of the driving field and the giant atom structure introduce a more tunable parameter to manipulate the single-photon scattering behaviors. We also examine how the non-reciprocity and routing capability are influenced by the imperfect chirality and the atomic dissipation. In the non-Markovian regime, we show that the scattering behaviors are more complicated. The non-Markovicity induced non-reciprocity and photon routing are demonstrated in this paper. We believe that those results have potential applications in quantum network engineering.
Abstract Single-photon frequency conversion in the system composed of a Λ -type three-level giant atom chiral couples to a one-dimensional waveguide is investigated. Two configurations, i.e. one of the atomic transitions couples to the waveguide at two separated points while the other one either directly or indirectly couples to the waveguide at a single point, are considered. The scattering amplitudes for representing the frequency conversion in the two kinds of coupling schematics are obtained analytically with the real-space approach. The results show that perfect nonreciprocal transmission with preserving frequency and ideal directional frequency conversion can be realized due to the time-reversal symmetry broken induced by the chiral coupling as well as the self-interference comes from the giant atom. In particular, in the indirect coupling configuration, the scattering spectra exhibit two directional frequency conversion windows due to the atom-cavity coupling, which enables the present system suitable for the simultaneous manipulation of incident photons with different frequencies. These results may have potential applications in various quantum information processing and quantum network engineering.
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We study the single-photon scattering in a one-dimensional (1D) waveguide coupled to one transition of a VVV-type giant atom (GA), whose other transition is coherently driven by an classical field. The inelastic scattering of single photons by the GA realizes the single-photon frequency conversion. By applying the Lippmann-Schwinger equation, the scattering coefficients for single photons incident from different directions are obtained, which present different scattering spectra in the Markovian and the non-Markovian regimes. The conversion contrast characterizing the nonreciprocity is also analyzed in both regimes. It is found that the probability of the frequency up- or down-conversion vanishes as long as the emission from either transition pathways for single photons is suppressed, but it is enhanced and even reach unity by introducing the nonreciprocity. It is the quantum self-interference induced by the scale of this two-legged GA and the phase difference between the GA-waveguide couplings that tune the probability of the frequency up- or down-conversion.
We study single-photon scattering spectra of a giant atom chirally coupled to a one-dimensional waveguide at multiple connection points, and examine chirality-induced effects in the scattering spectra. We show that the transmission spectra typically possess an anti-Lorentzian lineshape with a nonzero minimum, but by engineering the chirality of the multipoint coupling, the transmission spectrum of an incident photon can undergo a transition from complete transmission to total reflection at multiple frequency ``windows,'' where the width of the anti-Lorentzian lineshape for each of the window can be flexibly tuned at a fixed frequency detuning. Moreover, we show that a perfect nonreciprocal photon scattering can be achieved due to the interplay between internal atomic spontaneous emission and the chirally external decay to the waveguide, in contrast to that induced by the non-Markovian retardation effect. We also consider the non-Markovian retardation effect on the scattering spectra, which allows for a photonic band gap even with only two chiral coupling points. The giant-atom-waveguide system with chiral coupling is a promising candidate for realizing single-photon routers with multiple channels.