Unconventional photon blockade in coupled optomechanical systems

Abstract: We show that in laser-driven coupled optomechanical systems, photon antibunching can occur under weak optomechanical coupling, contrarily to common expectation. This unconventional photon blockade originates from destructive quantum interference between different excitation pathways bringing from the ground to two-photon states. Using a quantum open-system approach, we study the antibunching as a function of driving field amplitude, temperature, and pure dephasing rate, and derive optimal values of the system parameters for its occurrence. These values are remarkably close to those characterizing optomechanical systems in some current experimental studies.