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Robust Light State by Quantum Phase Transition in Non-Hermitian Optical Materials
Han Zhao1, Stefano Longhi2, Liang Feng1
1Department of Electrical Engineering, The State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY 14260, USA.
Scientific Reports
|November 24, 2015
Summary
Researchers discovered a novel robust light state by exploiting quantum phase transitions, not topology. This breakthrough in parity-time (PT) symmetric systems promises fault-tolerant optical information processing.
Area of Science:
- Photonics and optical metamaterials
- Quantum physics and condensed matter theory
Background:
- Robust light transport is crucial for optical information processing.
- Topological engineering of material properties is a common approach to achieve robust light states.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the potential of quantum phase transitions for designing novel robust light states.
- To explore the properties of interface states in parity-time (PT) symmetric media.
Main Methods:
- Consideration of an interface between PT-symmetric media with different quantum phases.
- Utilizing complex Berry phase to analyze quantum phase transitions and topological characteristics.
- Analysis of synthetic non-Hermitian metamaterial systems.
Main Results:
- A quantum phase transition, rather than topology alone, can create a novel robust light state.
- Novel interface states emerge at the boundary between PT-symmetric and PT-breaking phases.
- These interface states exhibit robustness against gain/loss perturbations and disorder.
Conclusions:
- Quantum phase transitions offer a new strategy for designing robust light states.
- The discovered interface states hold promise for fault-tolerant light transport.
- This work may advance optical communications and computing technologies.
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