arXiv subjects

Baile Zhang

Publications and source records attributed to Baile Zhang.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

arXiv2020

Observation of photonic antichiral edge states

Chiral edge states are a hallmark feature of two-dimensional topological materials. Such states must propagate along the edges of the bulk either clockwise or counterclockwise, and thus produce oppositely propagating edge states along the two parallel edges of a strip sample. However, recent theories have predicted a counterintuitive picture, where the two edge states at the two parallel strip edges can propagate in the same direction; these anomalous topological edge states are named as antichiral edge states. Here we report the experimental observation of antichiral edge states in a gyromagnetic photonic crystal. The crystal consists of gyromagnetic cylinders in a honeycomb lattice, with the two triangular sublattices magnetically biased in opposite directions. With microwave measurement, unique properties of antichiral edge states have been observed directly, which include the titled dispersion, the chiral-like robust propagation in samples with certain shapes, and the scattering into backward bulk states at certain terminations. These results extend and supplement the current understanding of chiral edge states.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2020

Non-Hermitian route to higher-order topology in an acoustic crystal

Topological phases of matter are classified based on their Hermitian Hamiltonians, whose real-valued dispersions together with orthogonal eigenstates form nontrivial topology. In the recently discovered higher-order topological insulators (TIs), the bulk topology can even exhibit hierarchical features, leading to topological corner states, as demonstrated in many photonic and acoustic artificial materials. Naturally, the intrinsic loss in these artificial materials has been omitted in the topology definition, due to its non-Hermitian nature; in practice, the presence of loss is generally considered harmful to the topological corner states. Here, we report the experimental realization of a higher-order TI in an acoustic crystal, whose nontrivial topology is induced by deliberately introduced losses. With local acoustic measurements, we identify a topological bulk bandgap that is populated with gapped edge states and in-gap corner states, as the hallmark signatures of hierarchical higher-order topology. Our work establishes the non-Hermitian route to higher-order topology, and paves the way to exploring various exotic non-Hermiticity-induced topological phases.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2020

Ideal Unconventional Weyl Point in a Chiral Photonic Metamaterial

Unconventional Weyl points (WPs), carrying topological charge 2 or higher, possess interesting properties different from ordinary charge-1 WPs, including multiple Fermi arcs that stretch over a large portion of the Brillouin zone. Thus far, such WPs have been observed in chiral materials and acoustic metamaterials, but there has been no clean demonstration in photonics in which the unconventional photonic WPs are separated from trivial bands. We experimentally realize an ideal symmetry-protected photonic charge-2 WP in a three-dimensional topological chiral microwave metamaterial. We use field mapping to directly observe the projected bulk dispersion, as well as the two long surface arcs that form a noncontractible loop wrapping around the surface Brillouin zone. The surface states span a record-wide frequency window of around 22.7% relative bandwidth. We demonstrate that the surface states exhibit a novel topological self-collimation property and are robust against disorder. This work provides an ideal photonic platform for exploring fundamental physics and applications of unconventional WPs.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2020

Chiral plasmons with twisted atomic bilayers

Van der Waals heterostructures of atomically thin layers with rotational misalignments, such as twisted bilayer graphene, feature interesting structural moiré superlattices. Due to the quantum coupling between the twisted atomic layers, light-matter interaction is inherently chiral; as such, they provide a promising platform for chiral plasmons in the extreme nanoscale. However, while the interlayer quantum coupling can be significant, its influence on chiral plasmons still remains elusive. Here we present the general solutions from full Maxwell equations of chiral plasmons in twisted atomic bilayers, with the consideration of interlayer quantum coupling. We find twisted atomic bilayers have a direct correspondence to the chiral metasurface, which simultaneously possesses chiral and magnetic surface conductivities, besides the common electric surface conductivity. In other words, the interlayer quantum coupling in twisted van der Waals heterostructures may facilitate the construction of various (e.g., bi-anisotropic) atomically-thin metasurfaces. Moreover, the chiral surface conductivity, determined by the interlayer quantum coupling, determines the existence of chiral plasmons and leads to a unique phase relationship (i.e., +/-π/2 phase difference) between their TE and TM wave components. Importantly, such a unique phase relationship for chiral plasmons can be exploited to construct the missing longitudinal spin of plasmons, besides the common transverse spin of plasmons.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2020

Negative refraction of ultra-squeezed in-plane hyperbolic designer polaritons

The in-plane negative refraction of high-momentum (i.e., high-k) photonic modes could enable many applications such as imaging and hyperlensing in a planar platform at deep-subwavelength scales. However, its practical implementation in experiments remains elusive so far. Here we propose a class of hyperbolic metasurfaces, which is characterized by an anisotropic magnetic sheet conductivity and can support the in-plane ultrahigh-k magnetic designer polaritons. Based on such metasurfaces, we report the first experimental observation of the all-angle negative refraction of designer polaritons at extremely deep-subwavelength scales. Moreover, we directly visualize the designer polaritons with hyperbolic dispersions. Importantly, for these hyperbolic polaritons, we find that their squeezing factor is ultra-large and, to be specific, it can be up to 129 in the experiments, a record-breaking value exceeding those in naturally hyperbolic materials. The present scheme for the achievement of negative refraction is also applicable to other natural materials and may enable intriguing applications in nanophotonics. Besides, the proposed metasurfaces are readily tailorable in space and frequency, which could serve as a versatile platform to explore the extremely high confinement and unusual propagation of hyperbolic polaritons.

physics.app-ph↗

arXiv2020

Broadband Enhancement of On-chip Single Photon Extraction via Tilted Hyperbolic Metamaterials

A fundamental building block for on-chip quantum photonics is a single-photon source with high repetition rates, which can enable many applications such as high-speed quantum communication and quantum information processing. Ideally, such single photon sources would then require a large on-chip photon extraction decay rate, namely the rate of excited photons coupled into nanofibers or waveguides, over a broad spectral range. However, this goal has remained elusive till date. Here we propose a feasible scheme to enhance the on-chip photon extraction decay rate of quantum emitters, through the tilting of the optical axis of hyperbolic metamaterials with respect to the end-facet of nanofibers. Importantly, the revealed scheme is applicable to arbitrarily orientated quantum emitters over a broad spectral range, e.g., up to ~80 nm for visible light. The underlying physics relies on the emerging unique feature of hyperbolic metamaterials if their optical axis is judiciously tilted. That is, their supported high-k (i.e., wavevector) hyperbolic eigenmodes, which are intrinsically confined inside them if their optical axis is un-tilted, can now become momentum-matched with the guided modes of nanofibers, and more importantly, they can safely couple into nanofibers almost without reflection.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2020

Controlling Cherenkov threshold with nonlocality

Cherenkov radiation is generally believed to be threshold-free in hyperbolic metamaterials owing to the extremely large photonic density of states in classical local framework. While recent advances in nonlocal and quantum effects extend our understanding of light-matter interactions in metallic nanostructures, the influence of nonlocality on threshold-free Cherenkov radiation still remains elusive. Here we theoretically demonstrate that the nonlocality provides an indispensable way to flexibly engineer Cherenkov thresholds in metallodielectric layered structures. Particularly, the nonlocality results in a lower-bound velocity cutoff, whose value is comparable to the electron Fermi velocity. Surprisingly, this lower-bound threshold can be significantly smaller than the classically predicted one if the metamaterial works around epsilon-near-zero frequencies. The capability to control Cherenkov thresholds opens numerous prospects for practical applications of Cherenkov radiation, in particular, for integrated free-electron radiation sources.

physics.app-ph↗

arXiv2020

Observation of Protected Photonic Edge States Induced By Real-Space Topological Lattice Defects

Topological defects (TDs) in crystal lattices are elementary lattice imperfections that cannot be removed by local perturbations, due to their real space topology. We show that adding TDs into a valley photonic crystal generates a lattice disclination that acts like a domain wall and hosts topological edge states. The disclination functions as a freeform waveguide connecting a pair of TDs of opposite topological charge. This interplay between the real-space topology of lattice defects and band topology provides a novel scheme to implement large-scale photonic structures with complex arrangements of robust topological waveguides and resonators.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2020

Circuit Implementation of a Four-Dimensional Topological Insulator

The classification of topological insulators predicts the existence of high-dimensional topological phases that cannot occur in real materials, as these are limited to three or fewer spatial dimensions. We use electric circuits to experimentally implement a four-dimensional (4D) topological lattice. The lattice dimensionality is established by circuit connections, and not by mapping to a lower-dimensional system. On the lattice's three-dimensional surface, we observe topological surface states that are associated with a nonzero second Chern number but vanishing first Chern numbers. The 4D lattice belongs to symmetry class AI, which refers to time-reversal-invariant and spinless systems with no special spatial symmetry. Class AI is topologically trivial in one to three spatial dimensions, so 4D is the lowest possible dimension for achieving a topological insulator in this class. This work paves the way to the use of electric circuits for exploring high-dimensional topological models.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2020

A Topology-Controlled Photonic Cavity Based on the Near-Conservation of the Valley Degree of Freedom

We demonstrate a novel path to localizing topologically-nontrivial photonic edge modes along their propagation direction. Our approach is based on the near-conservation of the photonic valley degree of freedom associated with valley-polarized edge states. When the edge state is reflected from a judiciously oriented mirror, its optical energy is localized at the mirror surface because of an extended time delay required for valley-index-flipping. The degree of energy localization at the resulting topology-controlled photonic cavity (TCPC) is determined by the valley-flipping time, which is in turn controlled by the geometry of the mirror. Intuitive analytic descriptions of the "leaky" and closed TCPCs are presented, and two specific designs--one for the microwave and the other for the optical spectral ranges--are proposed.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2020

Amorphous photonic topological insulator

Photonic topological insulators (PTIs) exhibit robust photonic edge states protected by band topology, similar to electronic edge states in topological band insulators. Standard band theory does not apply to amorphous phases of matter, which are formed by non-crystalline lattices with no long-range positional order but only short-range order. Among other interesting properties, amorphous media exhibit transitions between glassy and liquid phases, accompanied by dramatic changes in short-range order. Here, we experimentally investigate amorphous variants of a Chern-number-based PTI. By tuning the disorder strength in the lattice, we demonstrate that photonic topological edge states can persist into the amorphous regime, prior to the glass-to-liquid transition. After the transition to a liquid-like lattice configuration, the signatures of topological edge states disappear. This interplay between topology and short-range order in amorphous lattices paves the way for new classes of non-crystalline topological photonic materials.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2019

Non-Hermitian Dirac Cones

Non-Hermitian systems, which contain gain or loss, commonly host exceptional point degeneracies rather than the diabolic points found in Hermitian systems. We present a class of non-Hermitian lattice models with symmetry-stabilized diabolic points, such as Dirac or Weyl points. They exhibit non-Hermiticity-induced phenomena previously existing in the Hermitian regime, including topological phase transitions, Landau levels induced by pseudo-magnetic fields, and Fermi arc surface states. These behaviors are controllable via gain and loss, with promising applications in tunable active topological devices.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2019

Valley kink states and topological channel intersections in substrate-integrated photonic circuitry

Valley degrees of freedom, providing a novel way to increase capacity and efficiency of information processing, have become an important instrument for photonics. Experimental studies on photonic topological valley kink states at interfaces between regions with opposite valley-Chern numbers have attracted much attention, however, were restricted to zigzag-type interfaces, largely limiting their applications such as geometry-dependent topological channel intersections. Here, we experimentally demonstrate and manipulate valley kink states at generic interfaces in subwavelength substrate-integrated photonic circuitry. We verify the robustness of the kink states by measuring transmissions of the kink states through twisted interfaces and interfaces with disorders. Based on the valley kink states at generic interfaces, we realize several topological channel intersections where photonic transport paths are related to geometries of the intersections. In comparison to those in previous works, the present valley photonic crystals have subwavelength thicknesses and excellent self-consistent electrical shielding, which are perfectly compatible with conventional substrate-integrated photonic circuitry. Our work opens a door to manipulate photonic valley pseudo-spins in substrate-integrated circuitry with robustness, easy access, and lightweight.

physics.app-ph↗

arXiv2019

Ideal type-II Weyl points in topological circuits

Weyl points (WPs), as nodal degenerate points in three-dimensional (3D) momentum space, are ideal if they are symmetry-related, well-separated, residing at the same energy and far from the nontopological bands. Although type-II WPs show some unique features compared with type-I counterparts, ideal type-II WPs have not yet been reported due to the lack of an ideal Weyl system with enough flexibility to tilt the dispersion bands. By stacking two-dimensional (2D) layers of inductor-capacitor (LC) resonator dimers with the breaking of parity inversion symmetry, here we experimentally realize the topological circuits with only the topological bands and observe a minimal number of four ideal type-II WPs. Two hallmark features of type-II WPs: a strongly tilted band structure with two group velocities having the same sign near type-II WPs and the topological surface states in an incomplete bandgap have been demonstrated. Our results establish an ideal system to the further study of Weyl physics and provide a new perspective to the access of topological matters.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2019

Normal Doppler frequency shift in negative refractive-index systems

Besides the well-known negative refraction, a negative refractive-index material can exhibit another two hallmark features, which are the inverse Doppler effect and backward Cherenkov radiation. The former is known as the motion-induced frequency shift that is contrary to the normal Doppler effect, and the latter refers to the Cherenkov radiation whose cone direction is opposite to the source's motion. Here we combine these two features and discuss the Doppler effect inside the backward Cherenkov cone. We reveal that the Doppler effect is not always inversed but can be normal in negative refractive-index systems. A previously un-reported phenomenon of normal Doppler frequency shift is proposed in a regime inside the backward Cherenkov cone, when the source's velocity is two times faster than the phase velocity of light. A realistic metal-insulator-metal structure, which supports metal plasmons with an effective negative refractive index, is adopted to demonstrate the potential realization of this phenomenon.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2019

Observation of an unpaired photonic Dirac point

At photonic Dirac points, electromagnetic waves are governed by the same equations as two-component massless relativistic fermions. However, photonic Dirac points are known to occur in pairs in "photonic graphene" and other similar photonic crystals, which necessitates special precautions to excite only states near one of the Dirac points. Systems hosting unpaired photonic Dirac points are significantly harder to realize, as they require broken time-reversal symmetry. Here, we report on the first observation of an unpaired Dirac point in a planar two-dimensional photonic crystal. The structure incorporates gyromagnetic materials, which break time-reversal symmetry; the unpaired Dirac point occurs when a parity-breaking parameter is fine-tuned to a topological transition between a photonic Chern insulator and a conventional photonic insulator phase. Evidence for the unpaired Dirac point is provided by transmission and field-mapping experiments, including a demonstration of strongly non-reciprocal reflection. This photonic crystal is suitable for investigating the unique features of two-dimensional Dirac states, such as one-way Klein tunneling.

physics.app-ph↗

arXiv2019

A metamaterial-free fluid-flow cloak

The model of ideal fluid flow around a cylindrical obstacle exhibits a long-established physical picture where originally straight streamlines will be deflected over the whole space by the obstacle. As inspired by transformation optics and metamaterials, recent theories have proposed the concept of fluid cloaking able to recover the straight streamlines as if the obstacle does not exist. However, such a cloak, similar to all previous transformation-optics-based devices, relies on complex metamaterials, being difficult to implement. Here we deploy the theory of scattering cancellation and report on the experimental realization of a fluid-flow cloak without metamaterials. This cloak is realized by engineering the geometry of the fluid channel, which effectively cancels the dipole-like scattering of the obstacle. The cloaking effect is demonstrated via direct observation of the recovered straight streamlines in the fluid flow with injected dyes. Our work sheds new light on conventional fluid control and may find applications in microfluidic devices.

physics.app-ph↗

arXiv2019

Controlling photonic spin Hall effect via exceptional points

The photonic spin Hall effect (SHE), featured by a spin-dependent transverse shift of an impinging optical beam driven by its polarization handedness, has many applications including precise metrology and spin-based nanophotonic devices. It is highly desirable to control and enhance the photonic SHE. However, such a goal remains elusive, due to the weak spin-orbit interaction of light, especially for systems with optical loss. Here we reveal a flexible way to modulate the photonic SHE via exceptional points, by exploiting the transverse shift in a parity-time (PT) symmetric system with balanced gain and loss. The underlying physics is associated with the near-zero value and abrupt phase jump of the reflection coefficients at exceptional points. We find that the transverse shift is zero at exceptional points, but it is largely enhanced in their vicinity. In addition, the transverse shift switches its sign across the exceptional point, resulting from spontaneous PT-symmetry breaking. Due to the sensitivity of transverse shift at exceptional points, our work also indicates that the photonic SHE can enable a precise way to probe the location of exceptional point in photonic systems.

physics.optics↗