arXiv · 1712.08145
State-recycling and time-resolved imaging in topological photonic lattices
Abstract
Photonic lattices - arrays of optical waveguides - are powerful platforms for simulating a range of phenomena, including topological phases. While probing dynamics is possible in these systems, by reinterpreting the propagation direction as "time," accessing long timescales constitutes a severe experimental challenge. Here, we overcome this limitation by placing the photonic lattice in a cavity, which allows the optical state to evolve through the lattice multiple times. The accompanying detection method, which exploits a multi-pixel single-photon detector array, offers quasi-real time-resolved measurements after each round trip. We apply the state-recycling scheme to intriguing photonic lattices emulating Dirac fermions and Floquet topological phases. In this new platform, we also realise a synthetic pulsed electric field, which can be used to drive transport within photonic lattices. This work opens a new route towards the detection of long timescale effects in engineered photonic lattices and the realization of hybrid analogue-digital simulators.
Explore related subjects
Keep this discovery
Sebabrata Mukherjee, Harikumar K. Chandrasekharan, Patrik Öhberg, Nathan Goldman, Robert R. Thomson. 2017-12-21. State-recycling and time-resolved imaging in topological photonic lattices. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-06723-y
Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.