Scattering of two photons on a quantum emitter in a one-dimensional waveguide: Exact dynamics and induced correlations

TL;DR

This paper presents an exact wavefunction approach to analyze two-photon scattering on a quantum emitter in a 1D waveguide, revealing how emitter non-linearity and photon correlations depend on pulse properties.

Contribution

It introduces a method for exact dynamics calculation of two-photon scattering and explores how spectral shape and pulse separation influence non-linearity and correlations.

Findings

Emitter acts as a non-linear beam-splitter for similar spectral widths.

Photon transmission depends on pulse separation and width.

Quantum correlations are induced in scattered states.

Abstract

We develop a wavefunction approach to describe the scattering of two photons on a quantum emitter embedded in a one-dimensional waveguide. Our method allows us to calculate the exact dynamics of the complete system at all times, as well as the transmission properties of the emitter. We show that the non-linearity of the emitter with respect to incoming photons depends strongly on the emitter excitation and the spectral shape of the incoming pulses, resulting in transmission of the photons which depends crucially on their separation and width. In addition, for counter-propagating pulses, we analyze the induced level of quantum correlations in the scattered state, and we show that the emitter behaves as a non-linear beam-splitter when the spectral width of the photon pulses is similar to the emitter decay rate.