Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

Applied Sciences

A Photon Blockade in a Coupled Cavity System Mediated by an Atom

Ming-Cui Li, Aixi Chen

Published Mar 8, 2019• 10 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We investigate theoretically the photon statistics in a coupled cavity system mediated by a two-level atom. The system consists of a linear cavity weakly driven by a continuous laser, and a nonlinear cavity containing an atom inside. We find that there exists a photon blockade in the linear cavity for both parameter regimes where the coupling strength between the atom and the nonlinear cavity is greater (or less) than the dissipation rate of the linear cavity. We also extend our model by pumping the two cavities simultaneously and find that the conventional photon blockade is apparent in the linear cavity, whereas the unconventional photon blockade appears in the nonlinear cavity. These results show that our work has potential applications for a single photon source in a weakly nonlinear system.

DOI
10.3390/app9050980

Related papers

Two-photon blockade in a cascaded cavity-quantum-electrodynamics system

Qian Bin, Xin‐You Lü, Shang-Wu Bin +1 more

We investigate theoretically the model of a cavity-quantum-electrodynamics (QED) system that consists of two two-level atoms coupled to a single-mode cavity in the weak coupling regime, where the system is driven by quantum light. The dynamics behavior of the entire system is tackled in the framework of a cascaded quantum system. We find that the two-photon blockade with two-photon bunching and three-photon antibunching can be obtained even when the strong system dissipation is included. This result shows that our work has potential for realizing entangled photon pairs in a weakly coupled cavity. Moreover, we also analyze the photon statistics of the system in the case of out-of-resonance coupling between cavity and two nonidentical atoms. Here, an unconventional photon blockade effect with suppression of two-photon correlation and enhancement of three-photon correlation can be realized, which shows many quantum statistical characteristics of a cavity QED system in weak coupling.

arXiv:1811.04405•Physical Review A•Oct 31, 2018•66 citations

Unconventional photon blockade in a Jaynes–Cummings model nonlinearly coupled with two other modes

Yuxuan Wang, Tong Mao, Yang Hui +1 more

Abstract We have investigated the unconventional photon blockade (UPB) in a hybrid system consisting of a Jaynes–Cummings model nonlinearly coupled with two other modes via a three-wave mixing interaction, operating in the weak coupling regime (compared with the decay rates of the system). We present both analytical and numerical results, obtained by solving the Schrödinger equation and the quantum master equation, respectively. The results show that the numerical simulations agree well with the analytical predictions and that the UPB effect would occur in this hybrid system both in the cavity-driven and atom-driven conditions. Under both driving conditions, the hybrid system could exhibit superior performance over the Jaynes–Cummings model under the same driving condition, i.e. achieve a stronger photon blockade effect. The influences of driving strength and coupling coefficient on photon blockade effect have also been discussed. Our finding may have potential applications in single-photon sources design.

Laser Physics•May 7, 2026•0 citations

Enhancement of photon blockade effect via quantum interference

Fen Zou, Deng-Gao Lai, Jie‐Qiao Liao

We study the photon blockade effect in a coupled cavity system, which is formed by a linear cavity coupled to a Kerr-type nonlinear cavity via a photon-hopping interaction. We explain the physical phenomenon from the viewpoint of the conventional and unconventional photon blockade effects. The corresponding physical mechanisms of the two kinds of photon blockade effects are based on the anharmonicity in the eigenenergy spectrum and the destructive quantum interference between two different transition paths, respectively. In particular, we find that the photon blockade via destructive quantum interference also exists in the conventional photon blockade regime and that the unconventional photon blockade occurs in both the weak- and strong-Kerr nonlinearity cases. The photon blockade effect can be observed by calculating the second-order correlation function of the cavity field. This model is general and hence it can be implemented in various experimental setups such as coupled optical-cavity systems, coupled photon-magnon systems, and coupled superconducting-resonator systems. We present some discussions on the experimental feasibility.

arXiv:1803.06642•Optics Express•Apr 20, 2020•64 citations

Photon blockade effect in a coupled cavity system

Fen Zou, Deng-Gao Lai, Jie‐Qiao Liao

We study the photon blockade effect in a coupled cavity system, which is formed by a linear cavity coupled to a Kerr-type nonlinear cavity via a photon-hopping interaction. We explain the physical phenomenon from the viewpoint of the conventional and unconventional photon blockade effects. The corresponding physical mechanisms of these two photon blockade effects are based on the anharmonicity in eigenenergy spectrum and the destructive quantum interference between two different transition paths, respectively. We find that the quantum interference effect also exists in the conventional photon blockade regime. Our results are confirmed by analytically and numerically solving the quantum master equation and calculating the second-order correlation function of the cavity fields. This model is general and hence it can be implemented in various experimental setups such as coupled optical cavities, coupled photon-magnon systems, and coupled superconducting resonators. We present some discussions on the experimental implementation.

•Mar 18, 2018•1 citation

Unconventional photon blockade in cavity QED with parametric amplification

Madan Mohan Mahana, Sanket Das, Tarak Nath Dey

We theoretically investigate the quantum-interference-induced photon blockade effect in a single two-level atom-cavity quantum electrodynamics (QED) system with degenerate parametric amplification. The analytical calculations reveal the optimal parametric gain and phase parameters for achieving optimum unconventional photon blockade conditions. Under the optimal parameter regime, the numerical results of the second-order correlation function demonstrate strong photon antibunching consistent with the analytical results. Furthermore, the numerical results corroborate that coherently driving the atom leads to a stronger photon blockade than a coherently driven cavity with the optimal parameters. We numerically demonstrate that the UPB effect is compromised by a non-zero cavity-atom coupling in the cavity-driven configuration. However, stronger photon antibunching can be attained with a non-zero cavity-atom coupling in the atom-driven configuration. This work may be suitable for experimentally realising a strongly antibunched single-photon source for applications in quantum technology.

arXiv:2505.04280•Physical Review A•Dec 24, 2025•2 citations

Enhanced unconventional photon blockade in coupled optical cavities

Li Yan, Man-tong Zhao, Lu‐Gang Cai +1 more

Abstract Quantum information processing, a key component of quantum information science, has attracted considerable attention. Its realization requires physical platforms and resources, among which optical systems and single-photon sources based on photon blockade (PB) have been widely employed. Here we investigate PB behaviors in a coupled optical cavity system driven by both single- and two-photon fields. The optimal conditions for PB are obtained with respect to the two-photon driving strength and cavity-laser detuning via analytical calculations. Using these optimal solutions, we show that a significant PB effect is achievable even with weak Kerr nonlinearity, and confirm that this behavior corresponds to unconventional PB (UPB) through a comparison of the second- and third-order correlation functions. Furthermore, our analysis reveals that UPB can be enhanced by two-photon dissipation. These results provide theoretical strategies for enhancing UPB, and offer insight into its fundamental mechanism.

Physica Scripta•Oct 15, 2026•0 citations
We investigate theoretically the photon statistics in a coupled cavity system mediated by a two-level atom. The system consists of a linear cavity weakly driven by a continuous laser, and a nonlinear cavity containing an atom inside. We find that there exists a photon blockade in the linear cavity for both parameter regimes where the coupling strength between the atom and the nonlinear cavity is greater (or less) than the dissipation rate of the linear cavity. We also extend our model by pumping the two cavities simultaneously and find that the conventional photon blockade is apparent in the linear cavity, whereas the unconventional photon blockade appears in the nonlinear cavity. These results show that our work has potential applications for a single photon source in a weakly nonlinear system.
We investigate theoretically the model of a cavity-quantum-electrodynamics (QED) system that consists of two two-level atoms coupled to a single-mode cavity in the weak coupling regime, where the system is driven by quantum light. The dynamics behavior of the entire system is tackled in the framework of a cascaded quantum system. We find that the two-photon blockade with two-photon bunching and three-photon antibunching can be obtained even when the strong system dissipation is included. This result shows that our work has potential for realizing entangled photon pairs in a weakly coupled cavity. Moreover, we also analyze the photon statistics of the system in the case of out-of-resonance coupling between cavity and two nonidentical atoms. Here, an unconventional photon blockade effect with suppression of two-photon correlation and enhancement of three-photon correlation can be realized, which shows many quantum statistical characteristics of a cavity QED system in weak coupling.
Abstract We have investigated the unconventional photon blockade (UPB) in a hybrid system consisting of a Jaynes–Cummings model nonlinearly coupled with two other modes via a three-wave mixing interaction, operating in the weak coupling regime (compared with the decay rates of the system). We present both analytical and numerical results, obtained by solving the Schrödinger equation and the quantum master equation, respectively. The results show that the numerical simulations agree well with the analytical predictions and that the UPB effect would occur in this hybrid system both in the cavity-driven and atom-driven conditions. Under both driving conditions, the hybrid system could exhibit superior performance over the Jaynes–Cummings model under the same driving condition, i.e. achieve a stronger photon blockade effect. The influences of driving strength and coupling coefficient on photon blockade effect have also been discussed. Our finding may have potential applications in single-photon sources design.
We study the photon blockade effect in a coupled cavity system, which is formed by a linear cavity coupled to a Kerr-type nonlinear cavity via a photon-hopping interaction. We explain the physical phenomenon from the viewpoint of the conventional and unconventional photon blockade effects. The corresponding physical mechanisms of the two kinds of photon blockade effects are based on the anharmonicity in the eigenenergy spectrum and the destructive quantum interference between two different transition paths, respectively. In particular, we find that the photon blockade via destructive quantum interference also exists in the conventional photon blockade regime and that the unconventional photon blockade occurs in both the weak- and strong-Kerr nonlinearity cases. The photon blockade effect can be observed by calculating the second-order correlation function of the cavity field. This model is general and hence it can be implemented in various experimental setups such as coupled optical-cavity systems, coupled photon-magnon systems, and coupled superconducting-resonator systems. We present some discussions on the experimental feasibility.
We study the photon blockade effect in a coupled cavity system, which is formed by a linear cavity coupled to a Kerr-type nonlinear cavity via a photon-hopping interaction. We explain the physical phenomenon from the viewpoint of the conventional and unconventional photon blockade effects. The corresponding physical mechanisms of these two photon blockade effects are based on the anharmonicity in eigenenergy spectrum and the destructive quantum interference between two different transition paths, respectively. We find that the quantum interference effect also exists in the conventional photon blockade regime. Our results are confirmed by analytically and numerically solving the quantum master equation and calculating the second-order correlation function of the cavity fields. This model is general and hence it can be implemented in various experimental setups such as coupled optical cavities, coupled photon-magnon systems, and coupled superconducting resonators. We present some discussions on the experimental implementation.
We theoretically investigate the quantum-interference-induced photon blockade effect in a single two-level atom-cavity quantum electrodynamics (QED) system with degenerate parametric amplification. The analytical calculations reveal the optimal parametric gain and phase parameters for achieving optimum unconventional photon blockade conditions. Under the optimal parameter regime, the numerical results of the second-order correlation function demonstrate strong photon antibunching consistent with the analytical results. Furthermore, the numerical results corroborate that coherently driving the atom leads to a stronger photon blockade than a coherently driven cavity with the optimal parameters. We numerically demonstrate that the UPB effect is compromised by a non-zero cavity-atom coupling in the cavity-driven configuration. However, stronger photon antibunching can be attained with a non-zero cavity-atom coupling in the atom-driven configuration. This work may be suitable for experimentally realising a strongly antibunched single-photon source for applications in quantum technology.
Abstract Quantum information processing, a key component of quantum information science, has attracted considerable attention. Its realization requires physical platforms and resources, among which optical systems and single-photon sources based on photon blockade (PB) have been widely employed. Here we investigate PB behaviors in a coupled optical cavity system driven by both single- and two-photon fields. The optimal conditions for PB are obtained with respect to the two-photon driving strength and cavity-laser detuning via analytical calculations. Using these optimal solutions, we show that a significant PB effect is achievable even with weak Kerr nonlinearity, and confirm that this behavior corresponds to unconventional PB (UPB) through a comparison of the second- and third-order correlation functions. Furthermore, our analysis reveals that UPB can be enhanced by two-photon dissipation. These results provide theoretical strategies for enhancing UPB, and offer insight into its fundamental mechanism.