Controlled optical thermalization in quasiperiodic photonic lattices

Area of Science:

• Quantum physics
• Photonics
• Condensed matter theory

Background:

• Thermalization describes a system's approach to equilibrium.
• Photonic lattices exhibit complex behaviors influenced by supermodes.
• Controlling thermalization dynamics is crucial for quantum simulations and information processing.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a mechanism for controlling the speed of thermalization and prethermalization in multimode photonic lattices.
• To utilize the coexistence of extended and localized supermodes to tailor system dynamics.
• To demonstrate accelerated thermalization transitions using specific lattice potentials.

Main Methods:

• Investigating multimode photonic lattices with mobility edges.
• Preparing diverse input beams to probe system response.
• Employing the generalized quasiperiodic Aubry-André potential as a proof of concept.
• Extending the concept to lattices lacking energy-dependent mobility edges by perturbing eigenvalue-coupling constant diagrams.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated a method to control thermalization speed (measured by propagation distance for maximum entropy) by manipulating supermode localization.
• Successfully showed an accelerated thermalization transition using the Aubry-André potential.
• Showcased that altering lattice structure can induce coexistence of localized and extended states, modifying supermode properties without significant changes to total power or Hamiltonian.

Conclusions:

• The proposed mechanism offers a novel way to control thermalization dynamics in photonic systems.
• The ability to tune between localized and extended states provides flexibility in preparing various input beams for tailored system evolution.
• This approach has implications for designing quantum simulators and optical devices with controllable dynamics.