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Acta Physica Sinica

Single-photon scattering in a two-level giant atom-dual waveguide coupled system based on local coupling phase regulation

Zhonghua ZHU, CHEN Keke, Yuqing Zhang, FU Xiangyun, Zhaohui PENG, LU Zhenyan, CHAI Yifeng, Zuzhou XIONG, Lei Tan

Published Jan 1, 2025• 2 citations
Publisher

Abstract

This work is to investigate the single-photon scattering in a waveguide quantum electrodynamics system consisting of two dipole-coupled giant atoms, each interacting with a separate one-dimensional infinite waveguide at two distinct coupling points. Our primary objective is to establish a theoretical framework for manipulating photon propagation paths via quantum interference induced by multiple coupling points and local phase engineering. Unlike traditional chiral coupling schemes, an innovative method, in which the coupling phases are designed locally at each atom-waveguide interface, is used to achieve effective chiral coupling, thereby introducing novel quantum interference mechanisms. Using a real-space approach, we derive analytical expressions for four-port scattering amplitudes. We establish the conditions for achieving perfect directional routing to any output port and demonstrate the coherent control mechanisms implemented by geometric and local coupled phases. Continuous frequency tunability is primarily achieved through dipole-dipole interaction, and finely tuned through the accumulated phase and local coupling phases. Local phase differences precisely regulate port-specific probability distributions within the waveguides while preserving total routing efficiency. Furthermore, we elucidate the mechanisms of nonreciprocal transport and chiral scattering. The analysis reveals different governing principles: perfect nonreciprocity arises from the interplay of the accumulated phase, local coupling phases, photon-atom detuning, and dipole-dipole interaction. In contrast, perfect chiral scattering depends entirely on the accumulated phase and local coupling phases, and is independent of detuning. Notably, under the phase-matching conditions, the system achieves both perfect chiral and directional routing, and realizes frequency-selective path-asymmetric photon control. These findings provide a comprehensive framework for manipulating quantum interference in multi-atom waveguide systems, highlighting applications in quantum information processing, including tunable single-photon routers, isolators, and chiral quantum nodes. By implementing superconducting circuits, the local phase can be dynamically adjusted, thus proving the feasibility of the experiment.

DOI
10.7498/aps.74.20250505

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This work is to investigate the single-photon scattering in a waveguide quantum electrodynamics system consisting of two dipole-coupled giant atoms, each interacting with a separate one-dimensional infinite waveguide at two distinct coupling points. Our primary objective is to establish a theoretical framework for manipulating photon propagation paths via quantum interference induced by multiple coupling points and local phase engineering. Unlike traditional chiral coupling schemes, an innovative method, in which the coupling phases are designed locally at each atom-waveguide interface, is used to achieve effective chiral coupling, thereby introducing novel quantum interference mechanisms. Using a real-space approach, we derive analytical expressions for four-port scattering amplitudes. We establish the conditions for achieving perfect directional routing to any output port and demonstrate the coherent control mechanisms implemented by geometric and local coupled phases. Continuous frequency tunability is primarily achieved through dipole-dipole interaction, and finely tuned through the accumulated phase and local coupling phases. Local phase differences precisely regulate port-specific probability distributions within the waveguides while preserving total routing efficiency. Furthermore, we elucidate the mechanisms of nonreciprocal transport and chiral scattering. The analysis reveals different governing principles: perfect nonreciprocity arises from the interplay of the accumulated phase, local coupling phases, photon-atom detuning, and dipole-dipole interaction. In contrast, perfect chiral scattering depends entirely on the accumulated phase and local coupling phases, and is independent of detuning. Notably, under the phase-matching conditions, the system achieves both perfect chiral and directional routing, and realizes frequency-selective path-asymmetric photon control. These findings provide a comprehensive framework for manipulating quantum interference in multi-atom waveguide systems, highlighting applications in quantum information processing, including tunable single-photon routers, isolators, and chiral quantum nodes. By implementing superconducting circuits, the local phase can be dynamically adjusted, thus proving the feasibility of the experiment.
Abstract We investigate a π-shaped single-photon router composed of an infinite waveguide and two semi-infinite waveguides coupled through double two-level giant atoms, where each giant atom is further coupled to a single-mode cavity. Using the real-space approach, analytical expressions of the single-photon scattering amplitudes are derived. The numerical results show that optimal routing with unit efficiency can be achieved by precisely adjusting frequency detunings between the incident photon and the atomic as well as cavity resonances, the accumulated phase, local coupling phases and coupling strengths between atoms, waveguides and cavities. Additionally, chiral single-photon scattering is observed, demonstrating a strong direction-dependence in the scattering properties, with perfect chiral scattering achieved under specific phase-matching conditions. We believe that our research has considerable potential applications for designing advanced optical quantum devices and implementing efficient single-photon quantum routing based on giant atom architectures.
Abstract We present a theoretical study of controlled single-photon routing in a cavity-quantum electrodynamics system coupled to dual waveguides, where each cavity embedding with a two-level atom mediates photon transport between two channels. The proposed system achieves enhanced routing performance through tailored phase-dependent cavity–waveguide couplings that generate optimized quantum interference patterns. Using a real-space formalism, we derive analytical expressions for single-photon scattering amplitudes and identify optimal conditions for maximum routing efficiency. Our analysis shows that targeted routing with near-unity efficiency can be realized by precisely manipulating both the accumulated phase and differential phase shift, while the atom–cavity coupling strength enables frequency-selective tunability. Furthermore, we demonstrate engineered nonreciprocal transmission and chiral scattering, enabling deterministic control over photonic propagation direction. This phase-tunable protocol establishes a scalable platform for quantum network implementation and enables novel functionalities in photonic quantum information processing.
Abstract We investigate single-photon quantum routing composed of double two-level atoms coupled to two infinite waveguides. By introducing local coupling phases at atom-waveguide connecting points, we engineer asymmetric atom-waveguide interactions, which enables the directional control of photon propagation for achieving high-efficiency quantum routing. Using the real-space approach, we derived exact expressions of the single-photon scattering amplitudes, allowing for a comprehensive analysis of the routing dynamics. For both identical and non-identical atomic configurations, we systematically explored the conditions for achieving perfect photon transfer. Our results demonstrate that complete photon transfer can be realized by precisely tuning the coupling phases, the accumulated phase and atomic frequencies. This work provides a theoretical foundation for developing high-efficiency quantum routers with potential applications in quantum networks and photonic quantum information processing.
In this paper, we propose a single-photon routing scheme using a hybrid system, where a two-level giant atom is coupled to a pair of one-dimensional coupled-resonator waveguides. Using the discrete-coordinate scattering approach, exact expressions of the four scattering coefficients are obtained, and the single-photon routing properties are studied. We find that the single-photon routing properties are closely related to the size of the giant atom, the coupling strength between the giant atom and waveguides, and the phase difference between two coupled channels of the atom-upper (lower) waveguide. Without considering the effect of phases of the atom-waveguide coupling coefficients, the probability for a single-photon routing from one waveguide to the other does not exceed 5050%50. However, by properly selecting coupling points between the giant atom and two waveguides, and the phase difference between two atom-upper (lower) waveguide coupling coefficients, a single photon can be transferred from the input port to an arbitrarily selected output port deterministically, i.e., with 100100%100 probability. It is also found that chiral and nonreciprocal single-photon scattering can be realized in our model by properly adjusting the phase difference between two atom-upper (lower) waveguide coupled channels. Our paper offers a promising route towards achieving tunable single-photon routing and constructing optical scalable quantum networks.
Abstract Single-photon scattering and nonreciprocal scattering are fundamentally important phenomena in giant-atom waveguide-QED systems. Their manipulation typically requires simultaneous control of multiple conditions. Here we propose a simple control method that requires only driving fields. We find that without changing the local coupling phase, the accumulated phases, or other parameters, controlling the double-driven fields can achieve three distinct transmission modes: (i) photons propagate along the infinite waveguide while also being routed into the semi-infinite waveguide, (ii) photons are routed into the infinite waveguide, (iii) photons are routed into the semi-infinite waveguide. Furthermore, unlike single-drive schemes that require switching off the driving field to achieve perfect nonreciprocal scattering, our double-drive configuration allows perfect nonreciprocal scattering while both driving fields remain active. These results demonstrate an efficient and flexible approach for engineerable single-photon routing in giant-atom platforms. Our results offer a promising route toward tunable control of single-photon quantum transport in integrated waveguide-QED devices.
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.