We investigate the two-photon transport through a waveguide side coupling to a whispering-gallery-atom system. Using the Lehmann-Symanzik-Zimmermann reduction approach, we present the general formula for the two-photon processes including the two-photon scattering matrices, the wave functions, and the second order correlation functions of the outgoing photons. Based on the exact results of the second order correlation functions, we analyze the quantum statistics behaviors of the outgoing photons for two different cases: (a) the ideal case without the intermodal coupling in the whispering-gallery resonator; and (b) the case in the presence of the intermodal coupling which leads to more complex nonlinear behavior. In the ideal case, we show that the system consists of two independent scattering pathways, a free pathway by a cavity mode without atomic excitation, and a “Jaynes-Cummings” pathway described by the Jaynes-Cummings Hamiltonian of a single-mode cavity coupling to an atom. The presence of the free pathway leads to two-photon correlation properties that are distinctively different from the standard Jaynes-Cummings model, in both the strong and weak-coupling regime. In the presence of intermodal mixing, the system no longer exhibits a free resonant pathway. Instead, both the single-photon and the two-photon transport properties depend on the position of the atom. Thus, in the presence of intermodal mixing, one can in fact tune the photon correlation properties by changing the position of the atom. Our formalism can be used to treat resonator and cavity dissipation as well.

• Received 21 August 2012

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.87.063818