Optimizing Wigner Negativity in Scattering Processes Using Energetic Cost Functions
Abstract
Wigner negativity is a key resource for quantum technologies but is difficult to optimize in multimode scattering systems. We study the scattering of coherent pulses by a two-level emitter coupled to a one-dimensional waveguide and introduce energetic cost functions that enable the optimization of Wigner negativity without reconstructing the full Wigner function. By decomposing the scattered energy into coherent, thermal, squeezing, and non-Gaussian contributions, we identify an energetic witness that strongly correlates with the achievable negativity across all driving regimes. This approach singles out optimal output temporal modes and uncovers operating points generating appreciable Wigner negativity with sub-photon input energies. We further identify a maximal energy-efficiency regime at spectral mode matching, where the emitter effectively implements a vacuum-selective π phase shift, realizing a giant optical nonlinearity. These results establish energetic optimization as a practical route to engineering Wigner-negative photonic states in waveguide quantum electrodynamics and related bosonic scattering platforms.
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BibTeX
@misc{lim2026optimizing,
title = {{Optimizing Wigner Negativity in Scattering Processes Using Energetic Cost Functions}},
author = {Kian Hwee Lim and Kiarn T. Laverick and Sahil S. Jafar and Samyak P. Prasad and Maria Maffei and Alexia Auffèves},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2606.15101},
eprint = {2606.15101},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2606.15101},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Optimizing Wigner Negativity in Scattering Processes Using Energetic Cost Functions
AU - Kian Hwee Lim
AU - Kiarn T. Laverick
AU - Sahil S. Jafar
AU - Samyak P. Prasad
AU - Maria Maffei
AU - Alexia Auffèves
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/02
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2606.15101
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2606.15101
AB - Wigner negativity is a key resource for quantum technologies but is difficult to optimize in multimode scattering systems. We study the scattering of coherent pulses by a two-level emitter coupled to a one-dimensional waveguide and introduce energetic cost functions that enable the optimization of Wigner negativity without reconstructing the full Wigner function. By decomposing the scattered energy into coherent, thermal, squeezing, and non-Gaussian contributions, we identify an energetic witness that strongly correlates with the achievable negativity across all driving regimes. This approach singles out optimal output temporal modes and uncovers operating points generating appreciable Wigner negativity with sub-photon input energies. We further identify a maximal energy-efficiency regime at spectral mode matching, where the emitter effectively implements a vacuum-selective π phase shift, realizing a giant optical nonlinearity. These results establish energetic optimization as a practical route to engineering Wigner-negative photonic states in waveguide quantum electrodynamics and related bosonic scattering platforms.
ER -