Nonlinear cascaded quantum network with giant emitters
Chiral quantum optics is central to developing scalable quantum networks, yet existing approaches rely predominantly on linear single-photon regimes. It remains unclear how to generate directional multiphotons. Here we show that giant emitters coupled to nonlinear quantum optical baths enable tunable directional correlated photons, revealing a mechanism for multiphoton directional emission. We demonstrate that the propagation phases of correlated photons, together with the coupling phases of giant emitters, can generate destructive interference in one direction while enhancing emission in the opposite direction, making directionality fully tunable. Building on this mechanism, we introduce a nonlinear cascaded quantum network paradigm mediated by “correlated flying qubits”, providing a configurable building block enabling distinct many-body applications beyond linear unidirectional setups. These results reveal a rich landscape for engineering multiphoton propagation and correlations through interference in giant emitter-nonlinear bath architectures, offering pathways for quantum networks and strongly correlated light-matter platforms. Chiral quantum optics is a prerequisite for communication protocols in quantum networks, but current methods are limited to the single-photon regime. The authors demonstrate that multiple giant emitters coupled to a nonlinear waveguide enable tunable multiphoton directional emission via interference, establishing a configurable building block for multiphoton cascaded quantum networks.
Authors
- Lei Du (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0641-440X)
- Z. Y. Wang
- Franco Nori (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3682-7432)
- Anton Frisk Kockum (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2534-3021)
- Tao Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1826-8019)
Institutions
- Northeast Normal University (CN)
- University of Michigan (US)
- RIKEN Center for Advanced Photonics (JP)
- Chalmers University of Technology (SE)
- Xi'an Jiaotong University (CN)
- South China University of Technology (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Communications Physics
- Published
- 2026-04-13
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s42005-026-02618-3
- Primary Topic
- Quantum Information and Cryptography
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Stiftelsen för Strategisk Forskning
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- Knut och Alice Wallenbergs Stiftelse
- Vetenskapsrådet
- Guangdong Provincial Pearl River Talents Program
- HORIZON EUROPE Framework Programme
- Japan Science and Technology Agency
- Wallenberg Centre for Molecular and Translational Medicine
- Wallenberg Center for Quantum Technology, Chalmers University of Technology
- Core Research for Evolutional Science and Technology
- Moonshot Research and Development Program