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Autores principales: Liu, Wentao, Wu, Di, Fang, Xiongjun, Liu, Yu-Xiao, Wang, Jieci
Formato: Preprint
Publicado: 2026
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Acceso en línea:https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.18101
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author Liu, Wentao
Wu, Di
Fang, Xiongjun
Liu, Yu-Xiao
Wang, Jieci
author_facet Liu, Wentao
Wu, Di
Fang, Xiongjun
Liu, Yu-Xiao
Wang, Jieci
contents Optical reciprocity--the principle that light retraces the same path when source and detector are interchanged--is a foundational concept in geometric optics. In this Letter, we demonstrate that this ``symmetry-protected'' behavior can be qualitatively overturned in a rotating black hole when spontaneous Lorentz symmetry breaking introduces a nonminimally coupled background structure with a preferred direction. Through numerical ray-tracing simulations, we reveal a striking macroscopic signature: upon optical-path reversal achieved by exchanging the source and the observer, the shadow of the same black hole morphs from a quasi-symmetric rugby-ball shape into a distinct teardrop profile. This high-contrast nonreciprocity effectively turns the black hole into a cosmic-scale optical diode, offering a novel pathway to probe fundamental symmetries using current and next-generation horizon-scale imaging.
format Preprint
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institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
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spellingShingle Macroscopic Optical Nonreciprocity: A Black Hole as an Optical Diode
Liu, Wentao
Wu, Di
Fang, Xiongjun
Liu, Yu-Xiao
Wang, Jieci
General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
Optical reciprocity--the principle that light retraces the same path when source and detector are interchanged--is a foundational concept in geometric optics. In this Letter, we demonstrate that this ``symmetry-protected'' behavior can be qualitatively overturned in a rotating black hole when spontaneous Lorentz symmetry breaking introduces a nonminimally coupled background structure with a preferred direction. Through numerical ray-tracing simulations, we reveal a striking macroscopic signature: upon optical-path reversal achieved by exchanging the source and the observer, the shadow of the same black hole morphs from a quasi-symmetric rugby-ball shape into a distinct teardrop profile. This high-contrast nonreciprocity effectively turns the black hole into a cosmic-scale optical diode, offering a novel pathway to probe fundamental symmetries using current and next-generation horizon-scale imaging.
title Macroscopic Optical Nonreciprocity: A Black Hole as an Optical Diode
topic General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.18101