Optical isolation with nonlinear topological photonics

It is shown that the concept of topological phase transitions can be used to design nonlinear photonic structures exhibiting power thresholds and discontinuities in their transmittance. This provides a novel route to devising nonlinear optical isolators. We study three representative designs: (i) a waveguide array implementing a nonlinear 1D Su-Schrieffer-Heeger (SSH) model, (ii) a waveguide array implementing a nonlinear 2D Haldane model, and (iii) a 2D lattice of coupled-ring waveguides. In the first two cases, we find a correspondence between the topological transition of the underlying linear lattice and the power threshold of the transmittance, and show that the transmission behavior is attributable to the emergence of a self-induced topological soliton. In the third case, we show that the topological transition produces a discontinuity in the transmittance curve, which can be exploited to achieve sharp jumps in the power-dependent isolation ratio.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figure

Flat Bands Under Correlated Perturbations

Flat band networks are characterized by coexistence of dispersive and flat bands. Flat bands (FB) are generated by compact localized eigenstates (CLS) with local network symmetries, based on destructive interference. Correlated disorder and quasiperiodic potentials hybridize CLS without additional renormalization, yet with surprising consequencies: (i) states are expelled from the FB energy $E_{FB}$, (ii) the localization length of eigenstates vanishes as $\xi \sim 1 / \ln (E- E_{FB})$, (iii) the density of states diverges logarithmically (particle-hole symmetry) and algebraically (no particle-hole symmetry), (iv) mobility edge curves show algebraic singularities at $E_{FB}$. Our analytical results are based on perturbative expansions of the CLS, and supported by numerical data in one and two lattice dimensions

Edge Modes, Degeneracies, and Topological Numbers in Non-Hermitian Systems

We analyze chiral topological edge modes in a non-Hermitian variant of the 2D Dirac equation. Such modes appear at interfaces between media with different "masses" and/or signs of the "non-Hermitian charge". The existence of these edge modes is intimately related to exceptional points of the bulk Hamiltonians, i.e., degeneracies in the bulk spectra of the media. We find that the topological edge modes can be divided into three families ("Hermitian-like", "non-Hermitian", and "mixed"), these are characterized by two winding numbers, describing two distinct kinds of half-integer charges carried by the exceptional points. We show that all the above types of topological edge modes can be realized in honeycomb lattices of ring resonators with asymmetric or gain/loss couplings.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, and Supplementary Materials, to appear in Phys. Rev. Let

Photonic Anomalous Quantum Hall Effect

We experimentally realize a photonic analogue of the anomalous quantum Hall insulator using a two-dimensional (2D) array of coupled ring resonators. Similar to the Haldane model, our 2D array is translation invariant, has zero net gauge flux threading the lattice, and exploits next-nearest neighbor couplings to achieve a topologically non-trivial bandgap. Using direct imaging and on-chip transmission measurements, we show that the bandgap hosts topologically robust edge states. We demonstrate a topological phase transition to a conventional insulator by frequency detuning the ring resonators and thereby breaking the inversion symmetry of the lattice. Furthermore, the clockwise or the counter-clockwise circulation of photons in the ring resonators constitutes a pseudospin degree of freedom. We show that the two pseudospins acquire opposite hopping phases and their respective edge states propagate in opposite directions. These results are promising for the development of robust reconfigurable integrated nanophotonic devices for applications in classical and quantum information processing

Observation of valley Landau-Zener-Bloch oscillations and pseudospin imbalance in photonic graphene

We demonstrate inter-valley Bloch oscillation (BO) and Landau-Zener tunneling (LZT) in an optically-induced honeycomb lattice with a refractive index gradient. Unlike previously observed BO in a gapped square lattice, we show non-adiabatic beam dynamics that are highly sensitive to the direction of the index gradient and the choice of the Dirac cones. In particular, a symmetry-preserving potential leads to nearly perfect LZT and coherent BO between the inequivalent valleys, whereas a symmetry-breaking potential generates asymmetric scattering, imperfect LZT, and valley-sensitive generation of vortices mediated by a pseudospin imbalance. This clearly indicates that, near the Dirac points, the transverse gradient does not always act as a simple scalar force as commonly assumed, and the LZT probability is strongly affected by the sublattice symmetry as analyzed from an effective Landau-Zener Hamiltonian. Our results illustrate the anisotropic response of an otherwise isotropic Dirac platform to real-space potentials acting as strong driving fields, which may be useful for manipulation of pseudospin and valley degrees of freedom in graphene-like systems

Reconfigurable topological phases in next-nearest-neighbor coupled resonator lattices

We present a reconfigurable topological photonic system consisting of a 2D lattice of coupled ring resonators, with two sublattices of site rings coupled by link rings, which can be accurately described by a tight-binding model. Unlike previous coupled-ring topological models, the design is translationally invariant, similar to the Haldane model, and the nontrivial topology is a result of next-nearest couplings with non-zero staggered phases. The system exhibits a topological phase transition between trivial and spin Chern insulator phases when the sublattices are frequency detuned. Such topological phase transitions can be easily induced by thermal or electro-optic modulators, or nonlinear cross phase modulation. We use this lattice to design reconfigurable topological waveguides, with potential applications in on-chip photon routing and switching.Comment: 5+5 pages, 3+5 figures, published versio

Anomalous single-mode lasing induced by nonlinearity and the non-Hermitian skin effect

Single-mode operation is a desirable but elusive property for lasers operating at high pump powers. Typically, single-mode lasing is attainable close to threshold, but increasing the pump power gives rise to multiple lasing peaks due to inter-modal gain competition. We propose a laser with the opposite behavior: multi-mode lasing occurs at low output powers, but pumping beyond a certain value produces a single lasing mode, with all other candidate modes experiencing negative effective gain. This behavior arises in a lattice of coupled optical resonators with non-fine-tuned asymmetric couplings, and is caused by an interaction between nonlinear gain saturation and the non-Hermitian skin effect. The single-mode lasing is observed in both frequency domain and time domain simulations. It is robust against on-site disorder, and scales up to large lattice sizes. This finding might be useful for implementing high-power laser arrays

Compact Discrete Breathers on Flat Band Networks

Linear wave equations on flat band networks host compact localized eigenstates (CLS). Nonlinear wave equations on translationally invariant flat band networks can host compact discrete breathers - time periodic and spatially compact localized solutions. Such solutions can appear as one-parameter families of continued linear compact eigenstates, or as discrete sets on families of non-compact discrete breathers, or even on purely dispersive networks with fine-tuned nonlinear dispersion. In all cases, their existence relies on destructive interference. We use CLS amplitude distribution properties and orthogonality conditions to derive existence criteria and stability properties for compact discrete breathers as continued CLS.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figure