arXiv subjects

Chenni Xu

Publications and source records attributed to Chenni Xu.

10 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2025

The Spontaneous Cascading Mechanism Behind Critical Phenomena in Self-Coupled Lasers

The basic physics of lasers is characterized by a second-order continuous phase transition at the critical lasing threshold. Nevertheless, laser bistability with abrupt transitions has been reported in some laser systems, but its underlying mechanism has never been explored. Here we study experimentally and theoretically a novel nonlinearly self-coupled laser system. We show both experimentally and theoretically that this system experiences spontaneous cascading that yields an abrupt mixed-order transition. At the critical point, a long-lived cascading plateau is observed, characterized by a critical branching factor equal to one. When deviating from criticality, the branching factor departs monotonically from one. The critical scaling close to and at the critical point resembles similar phenomena observed recently in other interdependent systems, suggesting a common universal cascading origin for abrupt transitions. Our results shed light on the cascading mechanism of abrupt transitions in laser systems, which can be utilized for future research and applications.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2025

Black hole optical analogue: photon sphere microlasers

The bell-like ringdown of the gravitational field in the last stage of the merging of massive black holes is now routinely detected on earth by the last generation of gravitational wave detectors. Its spectrum is interpreted as a sum of damped sinusoidal vibrations of the spacetime in the vicinity of the black hole. These so-called quasinormal modes are currently the subject of extensive studies, yet, their true nature remains elusive. Here, we emulate, in the laboratory, genuine four-dimension black hole metrics by two-dimensional optical curved surfaces that preserve the features of lightlike geodesics. %We establish the analogy with gravitational waves radiated by relaxing black holes, and We analytically compute the optical quasinormal modes and show that they are confined around the photon sphere, the unstable region around a black hole where spacetime curvature traps light in circular orbits. By 3D-printing non-Euclidean dye-doped microcavities, we demonstrate lasing at the photon sphere with a mode profile that closely matches the analytical prediction. These results paves the way for observing astrophysical phenomena in tabletop setups and is likely to inspire innovative designs in photonics.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2024

Spectral Switches of Light in Curved Space

Acting as analog models of curved spacetime, surfaces of revolution employed for exploring novel optical effects are followed with great interest nowadays to enhance our comprehension of the universe. It is of general interest to understand the spectral effect of light propagating through a long distance in the universe. Here, we address the issue on how curved space affects the phenomenon of spectral switches, a spectral sudden change during propagation caused by a finite size of a light source. By using the point spread function of curved space under the paraxial approximation, the expression of the on-axis output spectrum is derived and calculated numerically. A theoretical way to find on-axis spectral switches is also derived, which interprets the effect of spatial curvature of surfaces on spectral switches as a modification of effective Fresnel number. We find that the spectral switches on surfaces with positive Gaussian curvature are closer to the source, compared with the flat surface case, while the effect is opposite on surfaces with negative Gaussian curvature. We also find that the spectral switches farther away from the light source are more sensitive to the change in Gaussian curvature. This work deepens our understanding of the properties of fully and partially coherent lights propagating on two-dimensional curved space.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2023

Diffraction limit of light in curved space

Overcoming diffraction limit is crucial for obtaining high-resolution image and observing fine microstructure. With this conventional difficulty still puzzling us and the prosperous development of wave dynamics of light interacting with gravitational fields in recent years, how spatial curvature affect the diffraction limit is an attractive and important question. Here we investigate the issue of diffraction limit and optical resolution on two-dimensional curved spaces - surfaces of revolution (SORs) with constant or variable spatial curvature. We show that the diffraction limit decreases and resolution is improved on SORs with positive Gaussian curvature, opening a new avenue to super-resolution. The diffraction limit is also influenced by propagation direction, as well as the propagation distance in curved space with variable spatial curvature. These results provide a possible method to control optical resolution in curved space or equivalent waveguides with varying refractive index distribution and may allow one to detect the presence of non-uniform strong gravitational effect by probing locally the optical resolution.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2023

Nonthermal acceleration radiation of atoms near a black hole in presence of dark energy

We investigate how dark energy affects atom-field interaction. To this end, we consider acceleration radiation of a freely falling atom close to a Schwarzschild black hole (BH) in the presence of dark energy characterized by a positive cosmological constant $Λ$. The resulting spacetime is endowed with a BH and a cosmological (or de Sitter) horizon. Our consideration is a \textit{nonextremal} $(1+1)$-dimensional geometry with horizons far apart, giving rise to a flat Minkowski-like region in between the two horizons. Assuming a scalar ($\text{spin}-0$) field in a Boulware-like vacuum state, and by using a basic quantum optics approach, we numerically achieve excitation probabilities for the atom to detect a photon as it falls toward the BH horizon. It turns out that the nature of the emitted radiation deeply drives its origin from the magnitude of $Λ$. In particular, radiation emission is enhanced due to dilation of the BH horizon by dark energy. Also, we report an oscillatory nonthermal spectrum in the presence of $Λ$, and these oscillations, in a varying degree, also depend on BH mass and atomic excitation frequency. We conjecture that such a hoedown may be a natural consequence of a constrained motion due to the bifurcate Killing horizon of the given spacetime. The situation is akin to the Parikh-Wilzcek tunneling approach to Hawking radiation where the presence of extra contributions to the Boltzmann factor deforms the thermality of flux. It apparently hints at field satisfying a modified energy-momentum dispersion relation within classical regime of general relativity arising as an effective low energy consequence of an underlying quantum gravity theory. Our findings may signal new ways of conceiving the subtleties surrounding the physics of dark energy.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2022

Ray engineering from chaos to order in two-dimensional optical cavities

Chaos, namely exponential sensitivity to initial conditions, is generally considered a nuisance, inasmuch as it prevents long-term predictions in physical systems. Here, we present an easily accessible approach to undo deterministic chaos and tailor ray trajectories in arbitrary two-dimensional optical billiards, by introducing spatially varying refractive index therein. A new refractive index landscape is obtained by a conformal mapping, which makes the trajectories of the chaotic billiard fully predictable and the billiard fully integrable. Moreover, trajectory rectification can be pushed a step further by relating chaotic billiards with non-Euclidean geometries. Two examples are illustrated by projecting billiards built on a sphere as well as the deformed spacetime outside a Schwarzschild black hole, which respectively lead to all periodic orbits and spiraling trajectories in the resulting 2D billiards/cavities. An implementation of our method is proposed, which enables real-time control of chaos and could further contribute to a wealth of potential applications in the domain of optical microcavities.

nlin.CD↗

arXiv2021

Theory of light propagation in arbitrary two-dimensional curved space

As an analog model of general relativity, optics on some two-dimensional (2D) curved surfaces has been increasingly paid attention to in the past decade. Here, in light of Huygens-Fresnel principle, we propose a theoretical frame to study light propagation along arbitrary geodesics on any 2D curved surfaces. This theory not only enables us to solve the enigma of "infinite intensity" existed previously at artificial singularities on surfaces of revolution, but also makes it possible to study light propagation on arbitrary 2D curved surfaces. Based on this theory, we investigate the effects of light propagation on a typical surface of revolution, Flamm's paraboloid, as an example, from which one can understand the behavior of light in the curved geometry of Schwarzschild black holes. Our theory provides a convenient and powerful tool for investigations of radiation in curved space.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2021

Light chaotic dynamics in the transformation from curved to flat surfaces

Light propagation on a two-dimensional curved surface embedded in a three-dimensional space has attracted increasing attention as an analog model of four-dimensional curved spacetime in laboratory. Despite recent developments in modern cosmology on the dynamics and evolution of the universe, investigation of nonlinear dynamics of light in non-Euclidean geometry is still scarce and remains challenging. Here, we study classical and wave chaotic dynamics on a family of surfaces of revolution by considering its equivalent conformally transformed flat billiard, with nonuniform distribution of refractive index. This equivalence is established by showing how these two systems have the same equations and the same dynamics. By exploring the Poincaré surface of section, the Lyapunov exponent and the statistics of eigenmodes and eigenfrequency spectrum in the transformed inhomogeneous table billiard, we find that the degree of chaos is fully controlled by a single geometric parameter of the curved surface. A simple interpretation of our findings in transformed billiards, the "fictitious force", allows to extend our prediction to other class of curved surfaces. This powerful analogy between two a prior unrelated systems not only brings forward a novel approach to control the degree of chaos, but also provides potentialities for further studies and applications in various fields, such as billiards design, optical fibers, or laser microcavities.

nlin.CD↗

arXiv2021

Pulse dynamics of flexural waves in transformed plates

Coordinate-transformation-inspired optical devices have been mostly examined in the continuous-wave regime: the performance of an invisibility cloak, which has been demonstrated for monochromatic excitation, %would inevitably is likely to deteriorate for short pulses. Here we investigate pulse dynamics of flexural waves propagating in transformed plates. We propose a practical realization of a waveshifter and a rotator for flexural waves based on the coordinate transformation method. Time-resolved measurements reveal how the waveshifter deviates a short pulse from its initial trajectory, with no reflection at the bend and no spatial and temporal distortion of the pulse. Extending our strategy to cylindrical coordinates, we design a wave rotator. We demonstrate experimentally how a pulsed plane wave is twisted inside the rotator, while its wavefront is recovered behind the rotator and the pulse shape is preserved, with no extra time delay. We propose the realization of the dynamical mirage effect, where an obstacle appears oriented in a deceptive direction.

physics.class-ph↗

arXiv2018

Generalization of Wolf Effect of light on Arbitrary Two-Dimensional Surface of Revolution

Investigation of physics on two-dimensional curved surface has significant meaning in study of general relativity, inasmuch as its realizability in experimental analogy and verification of faint gravitational effects in laboratory. Several phenomena about dynamics of particles and electromagnetic waves have been explored on curved surfaces. Here we consider Wolf effect, a phenomenon of spectral shift due to the fluctuating nature of light fields, on an arbitrary surface of revolution (SOR). The general expression of the propagation of partially coherent beams propagating on arbitrary SOR is derived and the corresponding evolution of light spectrum is also obtained. We investigate the extra influence of surface topology on spectral shift by defining two quantities, effective propagation distance and effective transverse distance, and compare them with longitudinal and transverse proper lengths. Spectral shift is accelerated when the defined effective quantities are greater than real proper lengths, and vice versa. We also employ some typical SORs, cylindrical surfaces, conical surfaces, SORs generated by power function and periodic peanut-shell shapes, as examples to provide concrete analyses. This work generalizes the research of Wolf effect to arbitrary SORs, and provides a universal method for analyzing properties of propagation compared with that in flat space for any SOR whose topology is known.

physics.optics↗