Observation of chiral state transfer without encircling an exceptional point

Hadiseh Nasari, Gisela Lopez-Galmiche, Helena E. Lopez-Aviles, Alexander Schumer, Absar U. Hassan, Qi Zhong, Stefan Rotter, Patrick LiKamWa, Demetrios N. Christodoulides and Mercedeh Khajavikhan ()
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Hadiseh Nasari: University of Southern California
Gisela Lopez-Galmiche: University of Central Florida
Helena E. Lopez-Aviles: University of Central Florida
Alexander Schumer: University of Southern California
Absar U. Hassan: University of Central Florida
Qi Zhong: University of Central Florida
Stefan Rotter: Vienna University of Technology (TU Wien)
Patrick LiKamWa: University of Central Florida
Demetrios N. Christodoulides: University of Central Florida
Mercedeh Khajavikhan: University of Southern California

Nature, 2022, vol. 605, issue 7909, 256-261

Abstract: Abstract The adiabatic theorem, a corollary of the Schrödinger equation, manifests itself in a profoundly different way in non-Hermitian arrangements, resulting in counterintuitive state transfer schemes that have no counterpart in closed quantum systems. In particular, the dynamical encirclement of exceptional points (EPs) in parameter space has been shown to lead to a chiral phase accumulation, non-adiabatic jumps and topological mode conversion1–8. Recent theoretical studies, however, have shown that contrary to previously established demonstrations, this behaviour is not strictly a result of winding around a non-Hermitian degeneracy9. Instead, it seems to be mostly attributed to the non-trivial landscape of the Riemann surfaces, sometimes because of the presence of an EP in the vicinity9–11. Here, in an effort to bring this counterintuitive aspect of non-Hermitian systems to light and confirm this hypothesis, we provide a set of experiments to directly observe the field evolution and chiral state conversion in an EP-excluding cycle in a slowly varying non-Hermitian system. To do so, a versatile yet unique fibre-based photonic emulator is realized that utilizes the polarization degrees of freedom in a quasi-common-path single-ring arrangement. Our observations may open up new avenues for light manipulation and state conversion, as well as providing a foundation for understanding the intricacies of the adiabatic theorem in non-Hermitian systems.

Date: 2022
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DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-04542-2

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