Collective radiation from distant emitters

Waveguides allow for direct coupling of emitters separated by large distances, offering a path to connect remote quantum systems. However, when facing the distances needed for practical applications, retardation effects due to the finite speed of light are often overlooked. Previous works studied the non-Markovian dynamics of emitters with retardation, but the properties of the radiated field remain mostly unexplored. By considering a toy model of two distant two-level atoms coupled through a waveguide, we study the spectrum of the radiated field that exhibits non-Markovian features such as linewidth broadening beyond standard superradiance, or narrow Fano-resonance-like peaks. We also observe modifications to the energy-exchange dynamics in the presence of retardation. We discuss a proof-of-concept implementation of our results in a superconducting circuit platform.