Cooperative optical wavefront engineering with atomic arrays

Abstract Natural materials typically interact weakly with the magnetic component of light which greatly limits their applications. This has led to development artificial metamaterials and metasurfaces. However, natural atoms, where only electric dipole transitions are relevant at optical frequencies, can cooperatively respond form collective excitations strong magnetic, as well electric, interactions together corresponding mirror reflection properties. By combining degrees freedom, we show that ultrathin planar arrays atoms be utilized atomic lenses focus subwavelength spots diffraction limit, steer different angles allowing for sorting, converters between angular momentum states. The method is based on coherently superposing induced dipoles engineer a quantum nanophotonic Huygens’ surface giving full 2π phase control over transmission, close zero reflection.