Artificial Atoms Can Do More Than Atoms: Deterministic Single Photon Subtraction from Arbitrary Light Fields

We study the interplay of photons interacting with an artificial atom in the presence of a controlled dephasing. Such artificial atoms consisting of several independent scatterers can exhibit remarkable properties superior to single atoms with a prominent example being a superatom based on Rydberg blockade. We demonstrate that the induced dephasing allows for the controlled absorption of a single photon from an arbitrary incoming probe field. This unique tool in photon-matter interaction opens a way for building novel quantum devices, and several potential applications such as a single photon transistor, high fidelity n-photon counters, or the creation of nonclassical states of light by photon subtraction are presented.