Single-photon embedded eigenstates in coupled cavity-atom systems

Understand

Confining light in open structures is a long-sought goal in nanophotonics and cavity quantum electrodynamics.

• Embedded eigenstates provide infinite lifetime despite the presence of available leakage channels, but in linear time-invariant systems they cannot be excited from the outside, due to reciprocity.
• Here, we investigate how atomic nonlinearities may support single-photon embedded eigenstates, which can be populated by a multi-photon excitation followed by internal relaxation.
• We calculate the system dynamics and show that photon trapping, as well as the reverse release process, can be achieved with arbitrarily high efficiencies.