Abstract

We study a system of two distant quantum emitters coupled via a one-dimensional waveguide where the electromagnetic field has a direction-dependent velocity. As a consequence, the onset of collective emission is nonsimultaneous, and, for appropriate parameters, radiation could be enhanced for one of the emitters while inhibited for the other. Interference effects enable the system to radiate in a preferential direction depending on the atomic state and the field propagation phases. We characterize such directional emission as a function of various parameters, delineating the conditions for optimal directionality.