Nonreciprocal Photon Blockade

TL;DR

This paper introduces nonreciprocal photon blockade in spinning Kerr resonators, enabling directional control of quantum light, which is significant for chiral quantum devices and topological photonics.

Contribution

It demonstrates how to achieve nonreciprocal photon blockade using Fizeau drag in rotating nonlinear resonators, a novel approach for quantum nonreciprocal light manipulation.

Findings

Photon blockade occurs only in one direction due to Fizeau drag.

Different quantum correlations can be controlled directionally.

Transition between photon blockade and tunneling is characterized.

Abstract

We propose how to create and manipulate one-way nonclassical light via photon blockade in rotating nonlinear devices. We refer to this effect as nonreciprocal photon blockade (PB). Specifically, we show that in a spinning Kerr resonator, PB happens when the resonator is driven in one direction but not the other. This occurs because of the {Fizeau drag,} leading to a full split of the resonance frequencies of the countercirculating modes. Different types of purely quantum correlations, such as single- and two-photon blockades, can emerge in different directions in a well-controlled manner, and the transition from PB to photon-induced tunneling is revealed as well. Our work opens up a new route to achieve quantum nonreciprocal devices, which are crucial elements in chiral quantum technologies or topological photonics.