English

Using Topological Photon Chips to Uncover the Secrets of Open Systems

1060
2024-02-02 18:08:02
See translation

Conservation of energy is a fundamental concept in physics that can be used to explain anything from planetary orbits to the internal workings of individual atoms.

Energy can be converted into other forms, but the overall energy level is usually considered to vary over time. Therefore, when attempting to describe a system, physicists usually pay attention to ensuring that it is isolated from the surrounding environment.

However, if the energy gain and loss are distributed in an orderly manner, so that they cancel each other out in all possible situations, the dynamics of the system can also be stable. This can be ensured through a phenomenon called parity check time symmetry.

All components of the system are carefully arranged to exchange the gain and loss of light through simultaneous mirroring and time reversal, making the system appear unchanged, just like a video played backwards and simultaneously reflected in a mirror, but looking exactly the same as the original video, which means it is PT symmetric.

PT symmetry is not just an academic concept; On the contrary, it opens the door to a more thorough understanding of open systems.

Professor Alexander Szameit from Rostock University specializes in studying interesting physical phenomena related to PT symmetry. Laser can replicate the behavior of artificial and natural materials arranged in periodic lattice structures in their customized photonic chips, making them an excellent platform for testing various physical theories.

Therefore, Professor Szameit and his colleagues successfully integrated the ideas of topology and PT symmetry. Topology is the study of properties that remain unchanged even when the underlying system is constantly deformed. When a system possesses these qualities, it becomes particularly resistant to external influences.

Szameit's team used laser engraved photonic waveguides in their experiments, which are optical structures etched into materials by laser beams.

In these "optical circuits," so-called topological insulators are implemented.
So far, people believe that open systems and this powerful boundary state are fundamentally incompatible. Researchers from Rostock, Vilzburg, and Indianapolis have jointly demonstrated that it is possible to address the apparent paradox by dynamically allocating benefits and losses over time.

These findings may pave the way for the development of new cutting-edge circuits for transmitting sound, light, and even electricity. These findings also represent significant advances in the understanding of topological insulators and open systems.

This study was funded by the German Research Foundation and supported by the Alfred Krupp von Boren and the Halbach Foundation.

Source: Laser Net


Related Recommendations
  • Research Progress in High Efficiency Supercontinuum Spectra in Specific Wavebands Made by Shanghai Optics and Machinery High Power Laser Unit Technology Laboratory

    Recently, the High Power Laser Unit Technology Laboratory of Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, has made progress in research on high efficiency supercontinuum in specific bands. The relevant research results were published in the Journal of Lightwave Technology under the title of "Strong Anti Stokes and flat supercontinuum in specified band based on non ...

    2023-10-17
    See translation
  • Coherent's total fiscal 2023 revenue was $5.16 billion, with laser business accounting for 29 percent

    On August 16, Coherent, an American laser system solutions provider, announced its fiscal year 2023 and fourth quarter results for the year ended June 30, 2023. This is also the first annual report released after the merger of II-VI and Coherent.Fiscal year 2023 revenueCoherent reported revenue of $5.16 billion for the full fiscal year 2023, up 56% year over year.By business unit, the Networking b...

    2023-08-17
    See translation
  • Progress in research on intrinsic flexible and stretchable optoelectronic devices in the Institute of Chemistry

    Organic polymer semiconductor materials, due to their unique molecular structure and weak van der Waals interactions, are endowed with the characteristics of soluble processing and easy flexibility, and have potential applications in portable and implantable medical monitoring devices. A highly flexible, skin conformal, and excellent spatial resolution X-ray detector is expected to be integrated w...

    2024-04-09
    See translation
  • Semiconductor lasers will support both TE and TM modes

    Typically, for lasers in optical communication systems, waveguide designs are used to achieve a single transverse mode. By adjusting the thickness of the surrounding area of the cladding layer and the etching depth of the ridge in the ridge waveguide device, a single mode device can be obtained. The importance of lasers is reflected in the following aspects:A chip without ridge waveguide design an...

    2023-10-20
    See translation
  • New laser technology can achieve more efficient facial recognition

    Recently, the latest research report from FLEET, an interdisciplinary research team in Australia, revealed a significant leap in laser technology, achieving unprecedented levels of spectral purity.Spectral purity, which refers to the degree of matching of a single light frequency (or color) generated by a laser, is an important indicator for measuring laser performance. By using a scanning Fabry P...

    2024-06-24
    See translation