Rayleigh-Wood Threshold Controls Nonlinear Photon Correlations in Atomic Arrays

@misc{xiao2026rayleighwood,
  title = {{Rayleigh-Wood Threshold Controls Nonlinear Photon Correlations in Atomic Arrays}},
  author = {Zai-Cheng Xiao and Li-Ping Yang},
  howpublished = {arXiv},
  year = {2026},
  month = sep,
  doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2609.38770},
  eprint = {2609.38770},
  archivePrefix = {arXiv},
  url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.38770},
}

TY  - UNPB
TI  - Rayleigh-Wood Threshold Controls Nonlinear Photon Correlations in Atomic Arrays
AU  - Zai-Cheng Xiao
AU  - Li-Ping Yang
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/30
PB  - arXiv
DO  - 10.48550/arxiv.2609.38770
UR  - https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.38770
AB  - Two-dimensional atomic arrays provide versatile free-space quantum optical interfaces by coupling photons to collective lattice modes. Here we show that the Rayleigh--Wood anomaly provides a sharp control mechanism for both linear and nonlinear photon scattering from a single atomic layer. As the lattice spacing crosses the diffraction threshold, newly opened radiative channels rapidly broaden the dominant collective modes, converting specular reflection into diffuse off-axis scattering. In transmission, momentum-space Fano interference between the incident and collectively scattered fields produces single-photon intensity zeros that strongly reshape the momentum-space correlation pattern. An integrated nonlinear contrast reveals a pronounced channel asymmetry: upon opening the Rayleigh channels, the connected two-photon contribution drops by several orders of magnitude relative to the factorized background in transmission, while remaining close to unity in reflection. These results establish radiative diffraction thresholds as a control principle for quantum nonlinear optics in single-layer atomic arrays.
ER  -