  Cooperative phenomena arising due to the coupling of individual atoms via the
radiation field are a cornerstone of modern quantum and optical physics. Recent
experiments on x-ray quantum optics added a new twist to this line of research
by exploiting superradiance in order to construct artificial quantum systems.
However, so far, systematic approaches to deliberately design superradiance
properties are lacking, impeding the desired implementation of more advanced
quantum optical schemes. Here, we develop an analytical framework for the
engineering of single-photon superradiance in extended media applicable across
the entire electromagnetic spectrum, and show how it can be used to tailor the
properties of an artificial quantum system. This "reverse engineering" of
superradiance not only provides an avenue towards non-linear and quantum
mechanical phenomena at x-ray energies, but also leads to a unified view on and
a better understanding of superradiance across different physical systems.
