We introduce the concept of giant superatoms (GSAs), where two or more interacting atoms are nonlocally coupled to a waveguide through one of them, and explore their unconventional quantum dynamics. For braided GSAs, this setup enables decoherence-free transfer and swapping of their internal entangled states. For separate GSAs, engineering coupling phases leads to state-dependent chiral emission, which enables selective, directional quantum information transfer. This mechanism further facilitates remote generation of W-class entangled states. Our results thereby open exciting possibilities for quantum networks and quantum information processing.
We introduce the concept of giant superatoms (GSAs), where two or more interacting atoms are nonlocally coupled to a waveguide through one of them, and explore their unconventional quantum dynamics. For braided GSAs, this setup enables decoherence-free transfer and swapping of their internal entangled states. For separate GSAs, engineering coupling phases leads to state-dependent chiral emission, which enables selective, directional quantum information transfer. This mechanism further facilitates remote generation of W-class entangled states. Our results thereby open exciting possibilities for quantum networks and quantum information processing.
We study the generation of quantum entanglement between two giant atoms coupled to a one-dimensional waveguide. Since each giant atom interacts with the waveguide at two separate coupling points, there exist three different coupling configurations in the two-atom waveguide system: separated, braided, and nested couplings. Within the Wigner-Weisskopf framework for single coupling points, the quantum master equations governing the evolution of the two giant atoms are obtained. For each coupling configuration, the entanglement dynamics of the two giant atoms is studied, including the cases of two different atomic initial states: single- and double-excitation states. It is shown that the generated entanglement depends on the coupling configuration, phase shift, and atomic initial state. For the single-excitation initial state, there exists steady-state entanglement for these three couplings due to the appearance of the dark state. For the double-excitation initial state, an entanglement sudden birth is observed via adjusting the phase shift. In particular, the maximal entanglement for the nested coupling is about one order of magnitude larger than those of separate and braided couplings. In addition, the influence of the atomic frequency detuning on the entanglement generation is studied. This work can be utilized for the generation and control of atomic entanglement in quantum networks based on giant-atom waveguide-QED systems, which have wide potential applications in quantum information processing.
We investigate entanglement transfer in a multi-giant-atom waveguide system. By tailoring chiral spontaneous emission and exploiting dark-state dynamics, the setup enables perfect, unidirectional sequential or selective transfer of quantum states and their associated entanglement. The distance between two entangled atoms, i.e., the entanglement length, can be dynamically adjusted, allowing robust conversion between long-range and short-range entanglement during propagation. The system inherently converges to a dark state, guaranteeing high-fidelity directional transfer. When the additional phase is modulated as a periodic piecewise function, spatially separated giant atoms exhibit stable, nearly lossless state exchange and maintain steady entanglement even under non-Markovian conditions. This behavior mimics conventional braided architectures without suffering from propagation delays or spatial restrictions. Our proposal offers a scalable pathway for continuous long-distance entanglement transport and resilient state exchange in quantum networks.
Emitters coupled simultaneously to distant positions of a photonic bath, the so-called giant atoms, represent a new paradigm in quantum optics. When coupled to one-dimensional baths, as recently implemented with transmission lines or SAW waveguides, they lead to striking effects such as chiral emission or decoherence-free atomic interactions. Here, we show how to create giant atoms in dynamical state-dependent optical lattices, which offers the possibility of coupling them to structured baths in arbitrary dimensions. This opens up new avenues to a variety of phenomena and opportunities for quantum simulation. In particular, we show how to engineer unconventional radiation patterns, like multidirectional chiral emission, as well as collective interactions that can be used to simulate nonequilibrium many-body dynamics with no analog in other setups. Additionally, the recipes we provide to harness giant atoms in high dimensions can be exported to other platforms where such nonlocal couplings can be engineered.
We study the generation of quantum entanglement between two giant atoms coupled to a common one-dimensional waveguide. Here each giant atom interacts with the waveguide at two separate coupling points. Within the Wigner-Weisskopf framework for single coupling points, we obtain the time-delayed quantum master equations governing the evolution of the two giant atoms for three different coupling configurations: separated, braided, and nested couplings. For each coupling configuration, we consider both the Markovian and non-Markovian entanglement dynamics of the giant atoms, which are initially in two different separable states: single- and double-excitation states. Our results show that the generated entanglement depends on the phase shift, time delay, atomic initial state, and the coupling configuration. For the single-excitation initial state, there exists the steady-state entanglement for each coupling in both the Markovian and non-Markovian regimes due to the appearance of the dark state. For the double-excitation initial state, we observe entanglement sudden birth via adjusting the phase shift in both regimes. In particular, the maximally achievable entanglement for the nested coupling is about one order of magnitude larger than those of separate and braided couplings. We also find that the maximal entanglement for these three coupling configurations can be enhanced in the case of small time delays. This work can be utilized for the generation and control of entanglement in quantum networks based on giant-atom waveguide-QED systems, which have wide potential applications in quantum information processing.
Abstract We study the entanglement generation of two giant atoms within a one-dimensional bidirectional-chiral waveguide quantum electrodynamics (QED) system, where the initial state of the two giant atoms are ∣ e a , g b 〉. Here, each giant atom is coupled to the waveguide through three connection points, with the configurations divided into five types based on the arrangement of coupling points between the giant atoms and the waveguide: separate, fully braided, partially braided, fully nested, and partially nested. We explore the entanglement generation process within each configuration in both nonchiral and chiral coupling cases. It is demonstrated that entanglement can be controlled as needed by either adjusting the phase shift or selecting different configurations. For nonchiral coupling, the entanglement of each configuration exhibits steady state properties attributable to the presence of dark state. In addition, we find that steady-state entanglement can be obtained at more phase shifts in certain configurations by increasing the number of coupling points between the giant atoms and the bidirectional waveguide. In the case of chiral coupling, the entanglement is maximally enhanced compared to the one of nonchiral case. Especially in fully braided configuration, the concurrence reaches its peak value 1, which is robust to chirality. We further show the influence of atomic initial states on the evolution of interatomic entanglement. Our scheme can be used for entanglement generation in chiral quantum networks of giant-atom waveguide-QED systems, with potential applications in quantum networks and quantum communications.
In quantum optics, it is common to assume that atoms are pointlike objects compared to the wavelength of the electromagnetic field they interact with. However, this dipole approximation is not always valid, e.g., if atoms couple to the field at multiple discrete points. Previous work has shown that superconducting qubits coupled to a one-dimensional waveguide can behave as such ``giant atoms'' and then can interact through the waveguide without decohering, a phenomenon that is not possible with small atoms. Here, we show that this decoherence-free interaction is also possible when the coupling to the waveguide is chiral, i.e., when the coupling depends on the propagation direction of the light. Furthermore, we derive conditions under which the giant atoms in such chiral architectures exhibit dark states. In particular, we show that unlike small atoms, giant atoms in a chiral waveguide can reach a dark state even without being excited by a coherent drive. We also show that in the driven-dissipative regime, dark states can be populated faster in giant atoms. The results presented here lay a foundation for applications based on giant atoms in quantum simulations and quantum networks with chiral settings.