Universal photon blockade in two coupled cavities with Kerr nonlinearities
Phys. Rev. A 113, 033722 – Published 16 March, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/vdjq-wyv8
Abstract
Recently, the concept of universal photon blockade, which unifies the physical mechanisms of conventional and unconventional photon blockade, was proposed based on a two-photon Jaynes-Cummings model [Y.-H. Zhou, T. Liu, Q.-P. Su, X.-Y. Zhang, Q.-C. Wu, D.-X. Chen, Z.-C. Shi, H. Z. Shen, and C.-P. Yang, Phys. Rev. Lett. 134, 183601 (2025)]. In this paper, we introduce an approach to studying universal photon blockade by directly integrating the conditions for conventional and unconventional photon blockades. From a theoretical perspective, this approach can address the key question of “in which systems universal photon blockade can be realized” and establish a more intuitive analytical framework for understanding the relationships among conventional, unconventional, and universal photon blockades. We validate this approach by investigating universal photon blockade in a system of two coupled cavities with Kerr nonlinearities, and we find excellent agreement between the derived optimal conditions and precise numerical simulations. Our results establish a pathway for predicting universal photon blockade and hold promising potential for applications in generating antibunched photons.
