Non-Hermitian and topological photonics: optics at an exceptional point

Nanophotonics

article

Midya Parto¹  Yuzhou G. N. Liu²  Babak Bahari²  Mercedeh Khajavikhan²  Demetrios N. Christodoulides¹ 

[1] College of Optics and Photonics, University of Central Florida;Viterbi School of Engineering, University of Southern California

关键词: exceptional points;    non-Hermitian physics;    PT symmetry;    topological photonics;   

DOI  :  10.1515/nanoph-2020-0434

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: De Gruyter

【 摘 要 】

In the past few years, concepts from non-Hermitian (NH) physics, originally developed within the context of quantum field theories, have been successfully deployed over a wide range of physical settings where wave dynamics are known to play a key role. In optics, a special class of NH Hamiltonians – which respects parity-time symmetry – has been intensely pursued along several fronts. What makes this family of systems so intriguing is the prospect of phase transitions and NH singularities that can in turn lead to a plethora of counterintuitive phenomena. Quite recently, these ideas have permeated several other fields of science and technology in a quest to achieve new behaviors and functionalities in nonconservative environments that would have otherwise been impossible in standard Hermitian arrangements. Here, we provide an overview of recent advancements in these emerging fields, with emphasis on photonic NH platforms, exceptional point dynamics, and the very promising interplay between non-Hermiticity and topological physics.

【 授权许可】

CC BY