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Multiexcitation scattering in subwavelength atomic arrays

Yidan Wang (王艺丹)1, Oriol Rubies-Bigorda2,1, Valentin Walther3,4, and Susanne F. Yelin1

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Phys. Rev. A 114, 013705 – Published 6 July, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/ps6r-9vww

Abstract

Subwavelength atomic arrays are a leading platform for engineering light-matter interactions, enabling near-perfect single-photon mirrors and robust quantum memories based on long-lived dark spin waves. However, a comprehensive theory of their nonlinear, multi-excitation dynamics has remained a significant challenge. We present a unified quantum scattering theory that treats both photons and collective atomic spin waves as distinct propagating excitations interacting across different spatial dimensions. Our central result is a powerful analytical reduction: we demonstrate that the complete multichannel S-matrix and the associated scattering cross sections are exactly determined by the effective scattering dynamics solely within the atomic spin-wave subspace. This maps the complex physical problem of photon-atom interactions to a conceptually simpler one involving only atomic modes. We apply this formalism to the two-excitation case, deriving the complete analytical S-matrix and scattering cross sections for systems with two-level nonlinearities. Our work provides a versatile analytic tool for analyzing and engineering complex quantum nonlinear phenomena, including multi-excitation subradiance, in large-scale atomic systems.

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Outline

Information

Phys. Rev. A 114, 013705– Published 6 July, 2026
  • Received 21 September 2025
  • Revised 27 March 2026
  • Accepted 1 June 2026
Article part of CHORUS
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