Chiral Gain-Induced Time-Reversal Symmetry Breaking in Quantum Systems

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Silveirinha, Mário G., Oue, Daigo
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Silveirinha, Mário G.
Oue, Daigo
author_facet Silveirinha, Mário G.
Oue, Daigo
contents Structured light offers a powerful approach to tailor light-matter interactions in quantum systems with chiral properties. While chirality has been extensively studied in passive platforms, the role of optical gain in controlling chiral quantum dynamics remains largely unexplored. In this work, we develop a general theoretical framework to describe the dynamics of qubits interacting with structured gain environments, where amplification depends on the light's polarization or momentum. By quantizing the electromagnetic field in linear bianisotropic media with gain and extending the Lindblad formalism to these settings, we derive a master equation governing the qubit's irreversible evolution. We show that chiral gain can break time-reversal symmetry and drive the system toward a symmetry-broken steady state with nonreciprocal properties. This effect is illustrated in detail for moving plasmonic substrates, which exhibit inherently chiral gain that selectively amplifies transitions of a given handedness. Our results establish chiral gain as a novel mechanism for engineering nonreciprocal quantum steady states.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2505_02718
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Chiral Gain-Induced Time-Reversal Symmetry Breaking in Quantum Systems
Silveirinha, Mário G.
Oue, Daigo
Quantum Physics
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics
Structured light offers a powerful approach to tailor light-matter interactions in quantum systems with chiral properties. While chirality has been extensively studied in passive platforms, the role of optical gain in controlling chiral quantum dynamics remains largely unexplored. In this work, we develop a general theoretical framework to describe the dynamics of qubits interacting with structured gain environments, where amplification depends on the light's polarization or momentum. By quantizing the electromagnetic field in linear bianisotropic media with gain and extending the Lindblad formalism to these settings, we derive a master equation governing the qubit's irreversible evolution. We show that chiral gain can break time-reversal symmetry and drive the system toward a symmetry-broken steady state with nonreciprocal properties. This effect is illustrated in detail for moving plasmonic substrates, which exhibit inherently chiral gain that selectively amplifies transitions of a given handedness. Our results establish chiral gain as a novel mechanism for engineering nonreciprocal quantum steady states.
title Chiral Gain-Induced Time-Reversal Symmetry Breaking in Quantum Systems
topic Quantum Physics
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2505.02718