Coherent single-photon scattering spectra for a giant-atom waveguide-QED system beyond the dipole approximation

Abstract

We investigate the single-photon scattering spectra of a giant atom coupled to a one-dimensional waveguide via multiple connection points or a continuous coupling region. Using a full quantum mechanical method, we obtain the general analytic expressions for the single-photon scattering coefficients, which are valid in both the Markovian and the non-Markovian regimes. We summarize the influences of the nondipole effects, mainly caused by the phases accumulated by photons traveling between coupling points, on the scattering spectra. We find that under the Markovian limit, the phase decay is detuning independent, resulting in Lorentzian line shapes characterized by the Lamb shifts and the effective decay rates, while in the non-Markovian regime, the accumulated phases become detuning dependent, giving rise to non-Lorentzian line shapes, characterized by multiple side peaks and total transmission points. Another interesting phenomenon in the non-Markovian regime is the generation of a broad photonic band gap by a single giant atom. We further generalize the case of discrete coupling points to the continuum limit with atom coupling to the waveguide via a continuous area, and analyze the scattering spectra for some typical distributions of coupling strength.