Dynamics of quantum coherence and non-Markovianity of a three-level giant atom coupling to a one-dimensional waveguide and a classical field are investigated theoretically. The time delay of the photo propagation in the waveguide is taken into account and our aim is to access the collective impact of a waveguide and classical control of the system on the time evolution of coherence and non-Markovianity. For a giant atom, we find that the various values of the accumulated phase and time delay does not make much difference for the coherence evolution but there exists non-Markovian behavior for the vast majority of the chosen parameter values. With regard to the initial relative phase, the quantum coherence takes a monotonic behavior for a small atom but decreases with oscillations for a giant atom with majority values of the initial relative phase. Quantum coherence of a small atom decreases monotonically with regardless of the Rabi frequency and the atom’s detuning to a large extent but a large Rabi frequency or a large atom’s detuning will induce non-Markovian behavior for a giant atom. With a comparative analysis, the coherence evolution is enhanced significantly in that there is non-Markovian behavior for the dynamics of quantum coherence in a much larger range of scaled time for a giant atom than that for a small atom. Our study provide clues to preserve and to enhance quantum coherence in qutrit systems.
Dynamics of quantum coherence and non-Markovianity of a three-level giant atom coupling to a one-dimensional waveguide and a classical field are investigated theoretically. The time delay of the photo propagation in the waveguide is taken into account and our aim is to access the collective impact of a waveguide and classical control of the system on the time evolution of coherence and non-Markovianity. For a giant atom, we find that the various values of the accumulated phase and time delay does not make much difference for the coherence evolution but there exists non-Markovian behavior for the vast majority of the chosen parameter values. With regard to the initial relative phase, the quantum coherence takes a monotonic behavior for a small atom but decreases with oscillations for a giant atom with majority values of the initial relative phase. Quantum coherence of a small atom decreases monotonically with regardless of the Rabi frequency and the atom’s detuning to a large extent but a large Rabi frequency or a large atom’s detuning will induce non-Markovian behavior for a giant atom. With a comparative analysis, the coherence evolution is enhanced significantly in that there is non-Markovian behavior for the dynamics of quantum coherence in a much larger range of scaled time for a giant atom than that for a small atom. Our study provide clues to preserve and to enhance quantum coherence in qutrit systems.
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.
The non-Markovian effects of open quantum systems subjected to external environments are deemed to be valuable resources in quantum optics and quantum information processing. In this work, we construct the model Hamiltonian of three-level giant atom with multiple coupling points in the semi-infinite photonic waveguide via complex coupling coefficients and investigate the non-Markovian dynamics of the three-level giant atom driven by a classical laser field. In the non-Markovian regime, the traveling time of a photon between different coupling points is sufficiently large compared to the inverse of the bare relaxation rate of the giant atom. We derive the analytical expressions for the probability amplitudes of the driven three-level giant atom by solving a set of delay differential equations and obtain two independent conditions of bound states' formation that can inhibit the dissipation. We find two different types of bound states (including the static bound states and the periodic equal-amplitude oscillating bound states) and discuss the physical origins of the bound states' formation. Moreover, we discuss the case of the driven three-level giant atom interacting with the infinite photonic waveguide, where there is only one purely imaginary solution (i.e., only one bound-state condition exists) for its complex frequency (coming from the absence of mirror at one end of the waveguide) compared to that of a driven three-level giant atom coupling with a semi-infinite photonic waveguide. With this, we also find two different types of bound states, including the static bound state and the periodic equal-amplitude oscillating bound states. We study the influences of the phase in the coupling strength on the bound states in semi-infinite and infinite photonic waveguides. The presented protocol might open a way to better understand exactly the non-Markovian dynamics of driven multilevel giant atoms interacting with semi-infinite (or infinite) photonic waveguides.
We study the disentanglement dynamics of two giant atoms coupled to a common one-dimensional waveguide. We focus on the non-Markovian retarded effect in the disentanglement of the two giant atoms by taking the photon transmission time into account. By solving the time-delayed equations of motion for the probability amplitudes, we obtain the evolution of the entanglement of the two giant atoms, which are initially in the maximally entangled states in the single-excitation space. It is found that the retardation-induced non-Markovianity leads to nonexponential decay and revivals of entanglement. Concretely, we consider separate-, braided-, and nested-coupling configurations, and find that the disentanglement dynamics in these configurations exhibits different features. We demonstrate that the steady-state entanglement depends on the time delay under certain conditions in these three coupling configurations. We also study the dependence of the disentanglement of the two giant atoms on both the detuning effect and the initial-state phase effect. In addition, we consider the disentanglement dynamics of the two giant atoms, which are initially in the state superposed by zero-excitation and two-excitation components. This work will pave the way for the generation of stationary entanglement between two giant atoms, which may have potential applications in the construction of large-scale quantum networks based on the giant-atom waveguide-QED systems.
A comparative study of a qutrit (three-level atomic system) coupled to a classical field in a typical Markovian reservoir (free space) and in a photonic-band-gap (PBG) crystal is carried out. The aim of the study is to assess the collective impact of a structured environment and classical control of the system on the dynamics of quantum coherence, non-Markovianity, and estimation of parameters that are initially encoded in the atomic state. We show that the constructive interplay of PBG material as a medium and a classical driving field as a part of the system results in a significant enhancement of all the quantum traits of interest, compared to the case when the driven qutrit is in a Markovian environment. Our results supply insights for preserving and enhancing quantum features in qutrit systems, which are promising alternative candidates to be used in quantum processors instead of qubits.
Giant artificial atoms are promising and flexible building blocks for the implementation of analog quantum simulators. They are realized via a multilocal pattern of couplings of two-level systems to a waveguide, or to a two-dimensional photonic bath. A hallmark of giant-atom physics is their non-Markovian character in the form of self-coherent feedback, leading, e.g., to nonexponential atomic decay. The timescale of their non-Markovianity is essentially given by the time delay proportional to the distance between the various coupling points. In parallel, with the state-of-the-art experimental setups, it is possible to engineer complex phases in the atom-light couplings. Such phases simulate an artificial magnetic field, yielding a chiral behavior of the atom-light system. Here, we report a surprising connection between these two seemingly unrelated features of giant atoms, showing that the chirality of a giant atom controls its Markovianity. In particular, by adjusting the couplings' phases, a giant atom can, counterintuitively, enter an exact Markovian regime, irrespectively of any inherent time delay. We illustrate this mechanism as an interference process and via a collision model picture. Our findings significantly advance the understanding of giant atom physics, and open new avenues for the control of quantum nanophotonic networks.
Describing systems of superconducting atoms coupled to a continuum of photonic modes at multiple separated locations in a waveguide, waveguide quantum electrodynamics (QED) with giant atoms has emerged as a promising platform for realizing quantum interconnect. Such systems have been reported to exhibit rich phenomena that differ from those of natural atoms. Going beyond the widely used Born-Markov and Wigner-Weisskopf approximations, we investigate the non-Markovian dynamics of one and two giant atoms interacting with a waveguide formed by an array of coupled resonators. We discover that the diverse dynamical behaviors of the giant atoms are intrinsically determined by the energy spectrum of the composite system consisting of the giant atoms and the photonic modes in the waveguide. As long as one and more bound states are present in the energy spectrum, their excited-state probabilities, respectively, tend to stable finite values and lossless Rabi-like oscillations with frequencies proportional to the differences of the bound-state eigenenergies. Our result provides an insightful guideline for suppressing the decoherence of giant atoms and facilitates the development of quantum interconnect devices using giant-atom waveguide QED.