Quantum-discord-induced superradiance and subradiance in a system of two separated atoms

We investigate collective radiant properties of two separated atoms in X-type quantum states. We show that quantum correlations measured by quantum discord (QD) can induce and enhance superradiance and subradiance in the two-atom system even though in the absence of interatomic quantum entanglement. We also explore quantum statistical properties of photons in the superradiance and subradiance by addressing the second-order correlation function. In particular, when the initial state of the two separated atoms is the Werner state with non-zero QD, we find that radiation photons in the superradiant region exhibit the nonclassical sub-Poissonian statistics and the degree of the sub-Poissonian statistics increases with increasing of the QD amount, while radiation photons in the subradiant region have either the sub-Poissonian or super-Poissonian statistics depending on the amount of QD and the directional angle. In the subradiant regime we predict the QD-induced photon statistics transition from the super-Poissonian to sub-Poissonian statistics. These results shed a new light on applications of QD as a quantum resource.