Multi-Atomic Mirror for Perfect Reflection of Single Photons in A Wide Band of Frequency

TL;DR

This paper proposes a multi-atom resonator array in a waveguide to achieve near-perfect reflection of single photons across a wide frequency band, enabling better control of photon propagation.

Contribution

It introduces a novel hybrid structure with multiple atoms in resonators to extend perfect reflection from a single frequency to a broad band, surpassing single-atom limitations.

Findings

Achieves near-perfect reflection over a wide frequency band.

Demonstrates control of photon propagation and stopping light regions.

Validates results with discrete-coordinate scattering theory.

Abstract

A resonant two level atom doped in one dimensional waveguide behaves as a mirror, but this single-atom "mirror" can only reflect single photon perfectly at a specific frequency. For a one dimensional coupled-resonator waveguide, we propose to extend the perfect reflection region from a specific frequency to a wide band by placing many atoms individually in the resonators in a finite coordinate region of the waveguide. Such a doped resonator array promises us to control the propagation of a practical photon wave packet with certain momentum distribution instead of a single photon, which is ideally represented by a plane wave with specific momentum. The studies based on the discrete-coordinate scattering theory display that such hybrid structure indeed provides a near-perfect reflection for single photon in a wide band. We also calculated photon group velocity distribution, which shows that the perfect reflection with wide band exactly corresponds to the stopping light region.