{
  "abstract": "Atomic arrays provide a cooperative platform for light-mediated interactions in nonlocal metasurfaces which can operate in the quantum regime without nanofabricated optical elements or intrinsic material absorption. We present a minimal atomic implementation to harness wavefront engineering and create a near-ideal intrinsic atomic Huygens' surface. A simple bilayer square lattice with a two-atom unit cell, not limited to small lattice spacings, provides near-unity reflectionless transmission and a full $2π$ phase control of transmitted light without the localized site-dependent level shifts of previous proposals. This simplification is achieved through nonlocal radiative excitations that provide the familiar electric-dipole response with even radiation parity as well as an odd-parity radiation channel whose leading multipolar interpretation combines magnetic-dipole and electric-quadrupole contributions in atoms exhibiting only electric dipole transitions. This eliminates the need to simultaneously excite pure electric-dipole and magnetic-dipole responses with exactly matched radiation. We derive a two-mode model for this response and show that it accurately captures full coupled-dipole simulations near the optimal lattice spacings. Because of the wide applicability of coupled-dipole models, the relevance of our microscopic analysis extends beyond atomic physics to nanostructured metasurfaces. Moreover, the same platform also connects directly to established subradiance-protected single-photon storage protocols, suggesting a route toward combining wavefront engineering, storage, and retrieval in a simple atomic bilayer.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": "2611.04538",
  "author_total": 2,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "K. E. Ballantine"
    },
    {
      "name": "J. Ruostekoski"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/52xac0jggbhza.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.48550/arxiv.2611.04538",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "52xac0jggbhza",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2611.04538",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "LicenseRef-arXiv-nonexclusive-1.0",
  "licence_label": "arXiv licence",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "http://arxiv.org/licenses/nonexclusive-distrib/1.0/",
  "metadata_licence": "CC0-1.0",
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "arxiv",
      "cond-mat.quant-gas"
    ],
    [
      "arxiv",
      "physics.atom-ph"
    ],
    [
      "arxiv",
      "physics.optics"
    ],
    [
      "arxiv",
      "quant-ph"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": null,
  "pdf_url": "https://arxiv.org/pdf/2611.04538",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-11-03",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/52xac0jggbhza.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-04T15:21:25Z",
      "native_id": "2611.04538",
      "source": "arxiv",
      "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2611.04538"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "physics",
      "origin": "arxiv:cond-mat.quant-gas",
      "subfield": "amo"
    },
    {
      "field": "physics",
      "origin": "arxiv:cond-mat.quant-gas",
      "subfield": "condensed-matter"
    },
    {
      "field": "physics",
      "origin": "arxiv:physics.optics",
      "subfield": "optics-photonics"
    },
    {
      "field": "physics",
      "origin": "arxiv:quant-ph",
      "subfield": "quantum"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Wavefront engineering with atomic Huygens' surfaces made simple",
  "title_text": "Wavefront engineering with atomic Huygens' surfaces made simple",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-06T18:21:01Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/52xac0jggbhza",
  "venue": "arXiv",
  "versions": []
}