We study the coherent single-photon scattering in a one-dimensional waveguide coupled to a giant artificial molecule consisting of two coupled giant atoms. Since each giant atom couples to the waveguide via two coupling points, the couplings of the molecule with the waveguide have three different coupling configurations: the separated-, braided-, and nested-coupling cases. We obtain the exact expressions of the single-photon transmission and reflection amplitudes with the real-space approach. It is found that the behavior of the scattering spectra depends on the phase shift between two neighboring coupling points, the coupling configuration, and the coupling between the two giant atoms. Concretely, we study the photon scattering in both the Markovian and non-Markovian regimes, in which the photon propagating time between two neighboring coupling points is neglected and considered, respectively. Under the Markovian limit, the asymmetric Fano line shapes in different coupling configurations of the giant-molecule waveguide-QED system can be obtained by choosing proper phase shift, and the transmission window can be adjusted by the coupling strength between the two giant atoms in these three coupling configurations. In particular, multiple reflection peaks and dips in these configurations are revived in the non-Markovian regime. This paper will pave the way for the study of controllable single-photon devices based on the giant-molecule waveguide-QED systems.
We study the coherent single-photon scattering in a one-dimensional waveguide coupled to a giant artificial molecule consisting of two coupled giant atoms. Since each giant atom couples to the waveguide via two coupling points, the couplings of the molecule with the waveguide have three different coupling configurations: the separated-, braided-, and nested-coupling cases. We obtain the exact expressions of the single-photon transmission and reflection amplitudes with the real-space approach. It is found that the behavior of the scattering spectra depends on the phase shift between two neighboring coupling points, the coupling configuration, and the coupling between the two giant atoms. Concretely, we study the photon scattering in both the Markovian and non-Markovian regimes, in which the photon propagating time between two neighboring coupling points is neglected and considered, respectively. Under the Markovian limit, the asymmetric Fano line shapes in different coupling configurations of the giant-molecule waveguide-QED system can be obtained by choosing proper phase shift, and the transmission window can be adjusted by the coupling strength between the two giant atoms in these three coupling configurations. In particular, multiple reflection peaks and dips in these configurations are revived in the non-Markovian regime. This paper will pave the way for the study of controllable single-photon devices based on the giant-molecule waveguide-QED systems.
We investigate the single-photon scattering spectra in a giant-molecule waveguide quantum electrodynamics system, where a giant molecule consisting of two coupled giant atoms is connected to two waveguides via two separate sites, respectively. The phases of coupling strengths between the giant molecule and waveguides are considered. Using a real-space method, we obtain the exact analytical expressions for the single-photon scattering coefficients, which are valid both in the Markovian and non-Markovian regimes. It is shown that the transmission spectra strongly depend on phases, including the phases accumulated by photons traveling between coupling points and the phase difference between two coupled channels of the giant-molecule upper (lower) waveguide. Under the Markovian limit, we find that by selecting appropriate accumulated phases and local phase difference, targeted routing and asymmetrical scattering of photons can be achieved without breaking the symmetry in the coupling configuration between the giant molecule and waveguides. Moreover, all the optimal phase combinations for implementing single-photon routing have been summarized. In the non-Markovian regime, the scattering spectra show more complicated line shapes with multiple staggered peaks and dips. More interestingly, the scattering spectrum exhibits periodic changes during the transition from the Markovian to the non-Markovian regime, which makes one obtain a means to control photon routing in addition to phases. Our results may be useful in controlling and manipulating light-matter interactions involving giant atoms at the single-photon level.
The giant-atom topological-waveguide-QED systems have recently emerged as a promising platform for manipulating light-matter interactions. The combination of the multiple-point couplings and topological phase effect could lead to rich physical phenomena and effects. Here, we study single-photon scattering in a Su-Schrieffer-Heeger (SSH) waveguide coupled to either one or two two-level giant atoms. We assume that each giant atom is coupled to the waveguide via two coupling points and hence there exist four and sixteen coupling configurations for the single-giant-atom case and two-giant-atom separate coupling case, respectively. By solving the single-photon scattering problem in the real space, we obtain the exact expressions of the single-photon scattering amplitudes. It is found that a single photon in the SSH waveguide can be completely reflected or transmitted by choosing proper coupling configurations, coupling-point distances, atomic resonance frequency, and dimerization parameter. In addition, under proper parameter conditions, the scattering spectra are periodically modulated by the coupling-point distances. We also find that the collective behavior of the two giant atoms can be adjusted by quantum interference effect and topological effect and that the single-photon scattering spectra can exhibit the Lorentzian, super-Gaussian, electromagnetically induced transparencylike, and asymmetric Fano line shapes for some coupling configurations. This work will inspire the development of controllable single-photon devices based on the giant-atom topological-waveguide-QED systems.
We investigate the single-photon scattering spectra of a giant atom coupled to a one-dimensional waveguide via multiple connection points or a continuous coupling region. Using a full quantum mechanical method, we obtain the general analytic expressions for the single-photon scattering coefficients, which are valid in both the Markovian and the non-Markovian regimes. We summarize the influences of the nondipole effects, mainly caused by the phases accumulated by photons traveling between coupling points, on the scattering spectra. We find that under the Markovian limit, the phase decay is detuning independent, resulting in Lorentzian line shapes characterized by the Lamb shifts and the effective decay rates, while in the non-Markovian regime, the accumulated phases become detuning dependent, giving rise to non-Lorentzian line shapes, characterized by multiple side peaks and total transmission points. Another interesting phenomenon in the non-Markovian regime is the generation of a broad photonic band gap by a single giant atom. We further generalize the case of discrete coupling points to the continuum limit with atom coupling to the waveguide via a continuous area, and analyze the scattering spectra for some typical distributions of coupling strength.
We study chiral and nonreciprocal single-photon scattering in a chiral-giant-molecule waveguide-QED system. Here, the giant molecule consists of two coupled giant atoms, which interact with two linear waveguides, forming a four-port quantum device. We obtain the exact analytical expressions of the four scattering amplitudes using a real-space method. Under the Markovian limit, we find that the single-photon scattering behavior is determined by the coupling strength between the giant atoms and the waveguides, the coupling strength between the two giant atoms, and the nondipole effect caused by the phase accumulation of photons traveling between the coupling points. It is also found that chiral and nonreciprocal single-photon scattering can be realized by introducing the chiral coupling to break the symmetry in the coupling configuration between the giant molecule and the waveguides. In addition, an ideal chiral emitter-waveguide coupling enables a directional single-photon routing. In the non-Markovian regime, the scattering spectra are characterized by more abundant structures with multiple peaks and dips. In particular, we demonstrate that the non-Markovian retarded effect can induce the nonreciprocal single-photon scattering. Our results have potential applications in the design of optical quantum devices involving giant atoms, which can provide an efficient platform for studying chiral quantum optics.
Abstract The phase-controlled single-photon transport properties of a giant atom coupled to a one-dimensional waveguide are investigated. The coupling between the giant atom and the waveguide is modeled as a multi-point interaction. The coupling strengths between the giant atom and the waveguide are represented as complex numbers with associated phases. Analytical expressions for the scattering amplitudes are obtained using the real-space Hamiltonian method. The results show that the characteristics of the scattering spectra, including the positions of peaks (or dips) and the full width at half maximum, can be tuned by adjusting the phase difference between the coupling strengths. Further calculations reveal that the scattering spectra can be either super-broadened or sub-broadened. The conditions for achieving perfect nonreciprocal single-photon transport in the Markovian regime are also discussed. Moreover, we demonstrate the control of single-photon transport through phase differences in the non-Markovian regime. Our results may find applications in the design of quantum devices operating at the single-photon level, based on waveguide quantum electrodynamics.
We investigate single-photon scattering in a waveguide-QED setup, where a giant molecule composed of two frequency-detuned giant atoms is coupled to two parallel waveguides via multiple connection points. The competition between coherent atom--atom coupling and the effective decay rates dictates the splitting of a single resonance into a doublet in the transmission (reflection) spectra. By tailoring the asymmetry of the decay rates and the atomic detuning, one can engineer photon-path interference to optimize the transfer between waveguides; under chiral coupling conditions, this interference can be further harnessed to realize fully deterministic routing. In the non-Markovian regime, retardation effects can reshape the spectra and actively drive transitions between the weak- and strong-coupling regimes, converting an unsplit Markovian resonance into a clearly separated doublet, or conversely merging a split doublet back into a single resonance. For sufficiently long time delays, it further generates multiple resonances and avoided crossings, enriching the spectral response. Our results demonstrate how atomic detuning, decay-rate asymmetry, and non-Markovian retardation cooperate to provide versatile, interference-based control over single-photon routing in multi-port quantum networks.