Covert Scattering Control in Metamaterials with Non-Locally Encoded Hidden Symmetry

Symmetries and tunability are of fundamental importance in wave scattering control, but symmetries are often obvious upon visual inspection, which constitutes a significant vulnerability of metamaterial wave devices to reverse-engineering risks. Here, it is theoretically and experimentally shown that a symmetry in the reduced basis of the "primary meta-atoms" that are directly connected to the outside world is sufficient; meanwhile, a suitable topology of non-local interactions between them, mediated by the internal "secondary" meta-atoms, can hide the symmetry from sight in the canonical basis. Covert symmetry-based scattering control in a cable-network metamaterial featuring a hidden parity ( $$ ) symmetry in combination with hidden- $$ -symmetry-preserving and hidden- $$ -symmetry-breaking tuning mechanisms is experimentally demonstrated. Physical-layer security in wired communications is achieved using the domain-wise hidden $$ -symmetry as a shared secret between the sender and the legitimate receiver. Within the approximation of negligible absorption, the first tuning of a complex scattering metamaterial without mirror symmetry to feature exceptional points (EPs) of $$ -symmetric reflectionless states, as well as quasi-bound states in the continuum, is reported. These results are reproduced in metamaterials involving non-reciprocal interactions between meta-atoms, including the first observation of reflectionless EPs in a non-reciprocal system.