In quantum optics, light-matter interaction has conventionally been studied using small atoms interacting with electromagnetic fields with wavelength several orders of magnitude larger than the atomic dimensions. In contrast, here we experimentally demonstrate the vastly different giant atom regime, where an artificial atom interacts with acoustic fields with wavelength several orders of magnitude smaller than the atomic dimensions. This is achieved by coupling a superconducting qubit to surface acoustic waves at two points with separation on the order of 100 wavelengths. This approach is comparable to controlling the radiation of an atom by attaching it to an antenna. The slow velocity of sound leads to a significant internal time-delay for the field to propagate across the giant atom, giving rise to non-Markovian dynamics. We demonstrate the non-Markovian character of the giant atom in the frequency spectrum as well as nonexponential relaxation in the time domain.
Models of light-matter interactions typically invoke the dipole approximation, within which atoms are treated as point-like objects when compared to the wavelength of the electromagnetic modes that they interact with. However, when the ratio between the size of the atom and the mode wavelength is increased, the dipole approximation no longer holds and the atom is referred to as a "giant atom". Thus far, experimental studies with solid-state devices in the giant-atom regime have been limited to superconducting qubits that couple to short-wavelength surface acoustic waves, only probing the prope…
We have investigated the cross Kerr phase shift of propagating microwave fields strongly coupled to an artificial atom. The artificial atom is a superconducting transmon qubit in an open transmission line. We demonstrate average phase shifts of 11 degrees per photon between two coherent microwave fields both at the single-photon level. At high control power, we observe phase shifts up to 30 degrees. Our results provide an important step towards quantum gates with propagating photons in the microwave regime.
Engineering light-matter interactions at the quantum level has been central to the pursuit of quantum optics for decades. Traditionally, this has been done by coupling emitters, typically natural atoms and ions, to quantized electromagnetic fields in optical and microwave cavities. In these systems, the emitter is approximated as an idealized dipole, as its physical size is orders of magnitude smaller than the wavelength of light. Recently, artificial atoms made from superconducting circuits have enabled new frontiers in light-matter coupling, including the study of "giant" atoms which cannot …
In traditional quantum optics, where the interaction between atoms and light at optical frequencies is studied, the atoms can be approximated as point-like when compared to the wavelength of light. So far, this relation has also been true for artificial atoms made out of superconducting circuits or quantum dots, interacting with microwave radiation. However, recent and ongoing experiments using surface acoustic waves show that a single artificial atom can be coupled to a bosonic field at several points wavelengths apart. Here, we theoretically study this type of system. We find that the multip…
The giant atom system is a new paradigm in quantum optics, in which the traditional dipole approximation is not available. In this paper, we construct an artificial giant atom model by coupling a superconducting circuits to a transmission line by two coupling points. In the ultrastrong coupling regime, we show that the Lamb shift of the giant atom, which is induced by the non-negligible counter-rotating atom-waveguide coupling term, will modify its dissipation process. Furthermore, we investigate quantum Zeno and anti-Zeno effect where the size of the giant atom serves as a sensitive controlle…
In this paper we show how to generate efficiently entanglement between two artificial giant atoms with photon-mediated interactions in a waveguide. Taking advantage of the adjustable decay processes of giant atoms into the waveguide, and of the interference processes, spontaneous sudden birth of entanglement can be strongly enhanced with giant atoms. Highly entangled states can also be generated in the steady-state regime when the system is driven by a resonant classical field. We show that the statistics of the light emitted by the system can be used as a witness of the presence of entangleme…
Giant atoms that interact with real-space waveguides at multiple spatial points have attracted extensive attention due to their unique interference effects. Here we propose a feasible scheme for constructing giant atoms in a synthetic frequency dimension with, e.g., a dynamically modulated superconducting resonator and a tailored three-level artificial atom. Both analytical and numerical calculations show good agreement between our scheme and real-space two-level giant atoms. In particular, the symmetry of the model in momentum space can be broken by tuning the phase of the external field appl…
The dipole approximation is usually employed to describe light-matter interactions under ordinary conditions. With the development of artificial atomic systems, `giant atom' physics is possible, where the scale of atoms is comparable to or even greater than the wavelength of the light they interact with, and the dipole approximation is no longer valid. It reveals interesting physics impossible in small atoms and may offer useful applications. Here, we experimentally demonstrate the giant spin ensemble (GSE), where a ferromagnetic spin ensemble interacts twice with the meandering waveguide, and…
In quantum-optics experiments with both natural and artificial atoms, the atoms are usually small enough that they can be approximated as point-like compared to the wavelength of the electromagnetic radiation they interact with. However, superconducting qubits coupled to a meandering transmission line, or to surface acoustic waves, can realize "giant artificial atoms" that couple to a bosonic field at several points which are wavelengths apart. Here, we study setups with multiple giant atoms coupled at multiple points to a one-dimensional (1D) waveguide. We show that the giant atoms can be pro…
We investigate the non-Markovian dynamics of two giant artificial atoms interacting with a continuum of bosonic modes in a one-dimensional (1D) waveguide. Based on the diagrammatic method, we present the exact analytical solutions, which predict the rich phenomena of collective radiance. For the certain collective states, the decay rates are found to be far beyond that predicted in the the Dicke model and standard Markovian framework, which indicates the occurrence of super-superradiance. The superadiance-to-subradiance transition could be realized by adjusting the exchange symmetry of giant a…
We study the coherent single-photon scattering in a one-dimensional waveguide coupled to a giant artificial molecule consisting of two coupled giant atoms. Since each giant atom couples to the waveguide via two coupling points, the couplings of the molecule with the waveguide have three different coupling configurations: the separated-, braided-, and nested-coupling cases. We obtain the exact expressions of the single-photon transmission and reflection amplitudes with the real-space approach. It is found that the behavior of the scattering spectra depends on the phase shift between two neighbo…
In quantum optics, it is common to assume that atoms can be approximated as point-like compared to the wavelength of the light they interact with. However, recent advances in experiments with artificial atoms built from superconducting circuits have shown that this assumption can be violated. Instead, these artificial atoms can couple to an electromagnetic field at multiple points, which are spaced wavelength distances apart. In this chapter, we present a survey of such systems, which we call \textit{giant atoms}. The main novelty of giant atoms is that the multiple coupling points give rise t…
Superconducting circuits coupled to acoustic waveguides have extended the range of phenomena that can be experimentally studied using tools from quantum optics. In particular giant artificial atoms permit the investigation of systems in which the electric dipole approximation breaks down and pronounced non-Markovian effects become important. While previous studies of giant atoms focused on the realm of the rotating-wave approximation, we go beyond this and perform a numerically exact analysis of giant atoms strongly coupled to their environment, in regimes where counterrotating terms cannot be…
Synthesizing In-Bulk Topological Corner States via Giant Atoms
Shaanxi Province Key Laboratory of Quantum Information and Quantum Optoelectronic Devices, School of Physics, Xi’an Jiaotong University（陕西量子信息与光电子器件重点实验室，西安交通大学物理学院）
We investigate the relaxation dynamics of a single artificial atom interacting, via multiple coupling points, with a continuum of bosonic modes (photons or phonons) in a one-dimensional waveguide. In the non-Markovian regime, where the travelling time of a photon or phonon between the coupling points is sufficiently large compared to the inverse of the bare relaxation rate of the atom, we find that a boson can be trapped and form a stable bound state. More interestingly, if the number of coupling points is more than two, the bound state can oscillate persistently by exchanging energy with the …
The absorption of photons in a three-level atom can be controlled and manipulated by applying a coherent drive at one of the atomic transitions. The situation where the absorption is fully canceled, and the atom thus has been turned completely transparent, has been coined electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT). The characteristics of EIT is a narrow transparency window associated with a fluorescence quench at its center frequency, indicating that inelastic scattering at this particular point is suppressed. The emergence of EIT-like transparency windows is common in waveguide quantum el…
