Parity-time symmetry, singular amplification, and constant intensity waves in non-Hermitian photonics

by Dr Konstantinos Makris (TU Wien)

Tuesday 7 Apr 2015, 14:00 → 15:00 Europe/Budapest

Conference Room (KFKI Campus Bldg. 1.)

Abstract:
The concept of parity-time (PT)-symmetry [1] was recently introduced in the framework of classical optics [2]. These ideas led to the first experimental observation of PT-symmetry breaking in a system of two coupled waveguides with gain and loss [3]. In the first part of this talk, we will present a class of non-hermitian materials that are on average lossy, even though they contain gain. The transient amplification of light in such systems is characterized by the singular values and the pseudospectra of the underlying propagator [4]. The second part is devoted to the new concept of constant intensity waves [5] that exist only in non-hermitian environments.

References:
[1] C.M.Bender, Making sense of non-herimitian Hamiltonians Phys. Reports, 70 (2007) 947.
[2] K.G.Makris, R.El-Ganainy, D.N.Christodoulides, and Z.H.Musslimani, Beam dynamics in PT-symmetric optical lattices Phys.Rev.Lett. 100 (2008) 103904.
[3] C.E.Rüter, K.G.Makris, R.El-Ganainy, D.N.Christodoulides, M.Segev, and D.Kip, Observation of parity-time symmetry in Optics Nat.Phys. 6 (2010) 192.
[4] K.G.Makris, L.Ge, and H.Türeci, Anomalous transient amplification of waves in non-normal photonic media Phys.Rev.X 4 (2014) 041044.
[5] K.G.Makris, Z.H.Musslimani, D.N.Christodoulides, and S.Rotter, Constant-intensity waves and their modulation instability in non-hermitian potentials accepted in Nature Communications (2015).