Advances in synthetic gauge fields for light through dynamic modulation | Zendy

Daniel R. Hey | Zendy; Enbang Li | Zendy

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Advances in synthetic gauge fields for light through dynamic modulation

Author(s) -

Daniel R. Hey,

Enbang Li

Publication year - 2018

Publication title -

royal society open science

Language(s) - English

Resource type - Journals

SCImago Journal Rank - 0.84

H-Index - 51

ISSN - 2054-5703

DOI - 10.1098/rsos.172447

Subject(s) - photonics , physics , photon , gauge (firearms) , modulation (music) , topology (electrical circuits) , light field , reciprocity (cultural anthropology) , magnetic field , quantum , field (mathematics) , quantum mechanics , optics , materials science , engineering , electrical engineering , psychology , social psychology , mathematics , acoustics , pure mathematics , metallurgy

Photons are weak particles that do not directly couple to magnetic fields. However, it is possible to generate a photonic gauge field by breaking reciprocity such that the phase of light depends on its direction of propagation. This non-reciprocal phase indicates the presence of an effective magnetic field for the light itself. By suitable tailoring of this phase, it is possible to demonstrate quantum effects typically associated with electrons, and, as has been recently shown, non-trivial topological properties of light. This paper reviews dynamic modulation as a process for breaking the time-reversal symmetry of light and generating a synthetic gauge field, and discusses its role in topological photonics, as well as recent developments in exploring topological photonics in higher dimensions.

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