Collectively enhanced chiral photon emission from an atomic array near a nanofiber

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that a small atomic array near a nanofiber can produce highly chiral photon emission, enabling efficient unidirectional quantum communication and non-reciprocal photon devices.

Contribution

It reveals that collective interactions in a small atomic ensemble near a nanofiber can achieve near-perfect chirality in photon emission, advancing atom-waveguide interface technology.

Findings

Achieved near-perfect chirality with 10-15 atoms.

Enhanced photon coupling to nanofiber guided modes.

Potential applications in quantum communication and non-reciprocal devices.

Abstract

Emitter ensembles interact collectively with the radiation field. In the case of a one-dimensional array of atoms near a nanofiber, this collective light-matter interaction does not only lead to an increased photon coupling to the guided modes within the fiber, but also to a drastic enhancement of the chirality in the photon emission. We show that near-perfect chirality is already achieved for moderately-sized ensembles, containing 10 to 15 atoms. This is of importance for developing an efficient interface between atoms and waveguide structures with unidirectional coupling, with applications in quantum computing and communication such as the development of non-reciprocal photon devices or quantum information transfer channels.