Quantum-inspired superposition and nonseparable states of reconfigurable metasurfaces in classical systems

Classical and quantum bits serve as cornerstone in information science. As this field rapidly evolves, the interplay between the two continues to enrich and inspire each other. Here, analog superposition states and analog nonseparable states are theoretically explored and experimentally demonstrated in a reconfigurable time-varying metasurface. To implement the quantum-inspired states in classical system, we have developed a reconfigurable metasurface capable of synthesizing analog superposition states across the temporal dimension and analog nonseparable states across spatial and polarization dimensions. Due to its unique features of analog superposition and nonseparability, the proposed metasurface holds great potentials to revolutionize the information processing capabilities beyond those offered by the classical information metasurface. This work not only offers a reconfigurable physical platform to advance classical and quantum information, but also will both enable unknown wave phenomena and provide promising perspectives in the fields of information science, quantum physics and material science.