Disorder-aided pulse stabilization in dissipative synthetic photonic lattices

Area of Science:

• Quantum optics
• Condensed matter physics
• Photonics

Background:

• Non-Hermitian models like Hatano-Nelson and random clock models are crucial for understanding open quantum systems.
• Disordered photonic lattices are key platforms for studying light propagation and localization phenomena.
• Photon loss and disorder are fundamental aspects of real-world optical systems.

Purpose of the Study:

• To generalize existing non-Hermitian models for light evolution in dissipative and disordered photonic lattices.
• To investigate the effect of controlled photon loss and static phase disorder on light pulse dynamics.
• To explore the topological properties and Anderson transition in a non-unitary Floquet system.

Main Methods:

• Discrete time evolution of light in a generalized photonic lattice.
• Modeling the system as a non-unitary Floquet operator.
• Introducing controlled photon loss and static phase disorder.
• Analyzing the system's topological invariant.

Main Results:

• Controlled photon loss and static phase disorder lead to pulse stabilization in a ring topology.
• The system, when treated as a non-unitary Floquet operator, exhibits unique dynamics.
• Evidence for the absence of Anderson transition was found through topological invariant analysis.

Conclusions:

• The proposed model offers a novel framework for studying light propagation in complex optical systems.
• Pulse stabilization in ring topology is achievable through engineered dissipation and disorder.
• The findings contribute to the understanding of topological phenomena in non-Hermitian and non-unitary systems.