Artificial gauge fields in the t-z mapping for optical pulses: Spatiotemporal wave packet control and quantum Hall physics

Year: 2023

Authors: Oliver C., Mukherjee S., Rechstman MC., Carusotto I., Price HM.

Autors Affiliation: Univ Birmingham, Sch Phys & Astron, Birmingham B15 2TT, England; Indian Inst Sci, Dept Phys, Bangalore 560012, India; Penn State Univ, Dept Phys, University Pk, PA 16802 USA; Univ Trento, CNR INO, Pitaevskii BEC Ctr, I-38123 Trento, Italy; Univ Trento, Dipartimento Fis, I-38123 Trento, Italy.

Abstract: We extend the t-z mapping of time-dependent paraxial optics by engineering a synthetic magnetic vector potential, leading to a nontrivial band topology. We consider an inhomogeneous 1D array of coupled optical waveguides and show that the wave equation describing paraxial propagation of optical pulses can be recast as a Schrodinger equation, including a synthetic magnetic field whose strength can be controlled via the spatial gradient of the waveguide properties across the array. We use an experimentally motivated model of a laser-written array to demonstrate that this synthetic magnetic field can be engineered in realistic setups and can produce interesting physics such as cyclotron motion, a controllable Hall drift of the pulse in space or time, and propagation in chiral edge states. These results substantially extend the physics that can be explored within propagating geometries and pave the way for higher-dimensional topological physics and strongly correlated fluids of light.

Journal/Review: SCIENCE ADVANCES

Volume: 9 (42)      Pages from: eadj0360-1  to: eadj0360-11

More Information: I.C. acknowledges financial support from the Provincia Autonoma di Trento, the Q@TN initiative, and PNRR MUR project PE0000023-NQSTI. C.O. and H.M.P. were supported by the Royal Society via grants UF160112, RGF/EA/180121, and RGF/R1/180071 and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (grant number EP/W016141/1). M.C.R. acknowledges support from the Office of Naval Research under agreement number N00014-23-1-2102 and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research MURI program under agreement number FA9550-22-1-0339. S.M. acknowledges support from IISc and SERB (SRG/2022/002062).
KeyWords: Solitons; Transport; Fibers
DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adj0360

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