328 research outputs found
Exceptional-point-based optical amplifiers
The gain-bandwidth product is a fundamental figure of merit that restricts the operation of optical amplifiers. Here, we introduce a design paradigm based on exceptional points, which relaxes this limitation and allows for the building of a new generation of optical amplifiers that exhibits a better gain-bandwidth scaling. Additionally, our results can be extended to other physical systems such as acoustics and microwaves
Photonics meets excitonics: natural and artificial molecular aggregates
Organic molecules store the energy of absorbed light in the form of charge-neutral molecular excitations -- Frenkel excitons. Usually, in amorphous organic materials, excitons are viewed as quasiparticles, localized on single molecules, which diffuse randomly through the structure. However, the picture of incoherent hopping is not applicable to some classes of molecular aggregates -- assemblies of molecules that have strong near field interaction between electronic excitations in the individual subunits. Molecular aggregates can be found in nature, in photosynthetic complexes of plants and bacteria, and they can also be produced artificially in various forms including quasi-one dimensional chains, two-dimensional films, tubes, etc. In these structures light is absorbed collectively by many molecules and the following dynamics of molecular excitation possesses coherent properties. This energy transfer mechanism, mediated by the coherent exciton dynamics, resembles the propagation of electromagnetic waves through a structured medium on the nanometer scale. The absorbed energy can be transferred resonantly over distances of hundreds of nanometers before exciton relaxation occurs. Furthermore, the spatial and energetic landscape of molecular aggregates can enable the funneling of the exciton energy to a small number of molecules either within or outside the aggregate. In this review we establish a bridge between the fields of photonics and excitonics by describing the present understanding of exciton dynamics in molecular aggregates.Chemistry and Chemical Biolog
Nonuniversality of quantum noise in optical amplifiers operating at exceptional points
The concept of exceptional points-based optical amplifiers (EPOAs) has been recently proposed as a new paradigm for miniaturizing optical amplifiers while simultaneously enhancing their gain-bandwidth product. While the operation of this new family of amplifiers in the classical domain provides a clear advantage, their performance in the quantum domain has not yet been evaluated. Particularly, it is not clear how the quantum noise introduced by vacuum fluctuations will affect their operation. Here, we investigate this problem by considering three archetypal EPOA structures that rely either on unidirectional coupling, parity-time symmetry, or particle-hole symmetry for implementing the exceptional point. By using the Heisenberg-Langevin formalism, we calculate the added quantum noise in each of these devices and compare it with that of a quantum-limited amplifier scheme that does not involve any exceptional points. Our analysis reveals several interesting results: most notably that while the quantum noise of certain EPOAs can be comparable to those associated with conventional amplifier systems, in general the noise does not follow a universal scaling as a function of the exceptional point but rather varies from one implementation to another
Nonuniversality of quantum noise in optical amplifiers operating at exceptional points
The concept of exceptional points-based optical amplifiers (EPOAs) has been recently proposed as a new paradigm for miniaturizing optical amplifiers while simultaneously enhancing their gain-bandwidth product. While the operation of this new family of amplifiers in the classical domain provides a clear advantage, their performance in the quantum domain has not yet been evaluated. Particularly, it is not clear how the quantum noise introduced by vacuum fluctuations will affect their operation. Here, we investigate this problem by considering three archetypal EPOA structures that rely either on unidirectional coupling, parity-time symmetry, or particle-hole symmetry for implementing the exceptional point. By using the Heisenberg-Langevin formalism, we calculate the added quantum noise in each of these devices and compare it with that of a quantum-limited amplifier scheme that does not involve any exceptional points. Our analysis reveals several interesting results: most notably that while the quantum noise of certain EPOAs can be comparable to those associated with conventional amplifier systems, in general the noise does not follow a universal scaling as a function of the exceptional point but rather varies from one implementation to another
Nonuniversality of quantum noise in optical amplifiers operating at exceptional points
The concept of exceptional points-based optical amplifiers (EPOAs) has been recently proposed as a new paradigm for miniaturizing optical amplifiers while simultaneously enhancing their gain-bandwidth product. While the operation of this new family of amplifiers in the classical domain provides a clear advantage, their performance in the quantum domain has not yet been evaluated. Particularly, it is not clear how the quantum noise introduced by vacuum fluctuations will affect their operation. Here, we investigate this problem by considering three archetypal EPOA structures that rely either on unidirectional coupling, parity-time symmetry, or particle-hole symmetry for implementing the exceptional point. By using the Heisenberg-Langevin formalism, we calculate the added quantum noise in each of these devices and compare it with that of a quantum-limited amplifier scheme that does not involve any exceptional points. Our analysis reveals several interesting results: most notably that while the quantum noise of certain EPOAs can be comparable to those associated with conventional amplifier systems, in general the noise does not follow a universal scaling as a function of the exceptional point but rather varies from one implementation to another
On-chip non-reciprocal optical devices based on quantum inspired photonic lattices
We propose a novel geometry for integrated photonic devices that can be used
as isolators and polarization splitters based on engineered photonic lattices.
Starting from optical waveguide arrays that mimic Fock space representation of
a non-interacting two-site Bose Hubbard Hamiltonian, we show that introducing
magneto-optic nonreciprocity to these structures leads to a superior optical
isolation performance. In the forward propagation direction, an input TM
polarized beam experiences a perfect state transfer between the input and
output waveguide channels while surface Bloch oscillations block the backward
transmission between the same ports. Our analysis indicates a large isolation
ratio of 75 dB after a propagation distance of 8 mm inside seven coupled
waveguides. Moreover, we demonstrate that, a judicious choice of the
nonreciprocity in this same geometry can lead to perfect polarization
splitting.Comment: 13 pages 3 figure
Robustness of spatial Penning trap modes against environment-assisted entanglement
The separability of the spatial modes of a charged particle in a Penning trap
in the presence of an environment is studied by means of the positive partial
transpose (PPT) criterion. Assuming a weak Markovian environment, described by
linear Lindblad operators, our results strongly suggest that the environmental
coupling of the axial and cyclotron degrees of freedom does not lead to
entanglement at experimentally realistic temperatures. We therefore argue that,
apart from unavoidable decoherence, the presence of such an environment does
not alter the effectiveness of recently suggested quantum information protocols
in Penning traps, which are based on the combination of a spatial mode with the
spin of the particle.Comment: 11 pages, 2 figure
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