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| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Preprint |
| Published: |
2024
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://arxiv.org/abs/2410.08962 |
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| _version_ | 1866912600402427904 |
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| author | Serra, João C. Engheta, Nader Silveirinha, Mário G. |
| author_facet | Serra, João C. Engheta, Nader Silveirinha, Mário G. |
| contents | Conventional optical materials are characterized by either a dissipative response, which results in polarization-independent absorption, or by a gain response that leads to wave amplification. In this work, we study a peculiar class of materials with chiral-gain properties, where gain selectively amplifies waves of one polarization handedness, while dissipation suppresses the opposite handedness. We uncover a novel phenomenon, gain-momentum locking, at the boundary of chiral-gain media, where surface plasmons are amplified or attenuated based on their direction of propagation. This effect, driven by the interplay between spin-momentum locking and polarization-sensitive non-Hermitian responses, enables precise control over unidirectional wave propagation. Our findings open the door to photonic devices with unprecedented capabilities, such as lossless unidirectional edge-wave propagation and the generation of light with intrinsic orbital angular momentum. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2410_08962 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2024 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Gain-Momentum Locking in Chiral-Gain Media Serra, João C. Engheta, Nader Silveirinha, Mário G. Optics Conventional optical materials are characterized by either a dissipative response, which results in polarization-independent absorption, or by a gain response that leads to wave amplification. In this work, we study a peculiar class of materials with chiral-gain properties, where gain selectively amplifies waves of one polarization handedness, while dissipation suppresses the opposite handedness. We uncover a novel phenomenon, gain-momentum locking, at the boundary of chiral-gain media, where surface plasmons are amplified or attenuated based on their direction of propagation. This effect, driven by the interplay between spin-momentum locking and polarization-sensitive non-Hermitian responses, enables precise control over unidirectional wave propagation. Our findings open the door to photonic devices with unprecedented capabilities, such as lossless unidirectional edge-wave propagation and the generation of light with intrinsic orbital angular momentum. |
| title | Gain-Momentum Locking in Chiral-Gain Media |
| topic | Optics |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2410.08962 |