Environmental Quantum States Trigger Emission in Nonlinear Photonics

Abstract: Light-matter interactions are traditionally governed by two fundamental paradigms: spontaneous and stimulated radiation. However, in nonlinear multi-photon regimes, these classical mechanisms break down, revealing new possibilities for light emission. Here, we report the discovery of a novel mechanism, termed triggered emission, in which an emitter, largely detuned from single-photon states, is triggered by the quantum state of the environment to emit a highly correlated photon pair, doublon. By identifying two critical conditions, energy matching and wavefunction overlap, we demonstrate that the dynamics of the emitter are profoundly shaped by the environment's quantum state. Using this framework, we construct a novel superposition state comprising a localized single-photon state and a propagating, strongly correlated two-photon wavepacket. Furthermore, we realize the multi-photon unidirectional emission by modulating the emitter and the photon state. Our findings not only deepen the understanding of nonlinear emitter dynamics but also provide a versatile platform for quantum computing and quantum information processing.