Asymmetric topological pumping in nonparaxial photonics.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 35017483.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-021-27773-9 and PMC identifier 8752818.
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Abstract
Topological photonics was initially inspired by the quantum-optical analogy between the Schrödinger equation for an electron wavefunction and the paraxial equation for a light beam. Here, we reveal an unexpected phenomenon in topological pumping observed in arrays of nonparaxial optical waveguides where the quantum-optical analogy becomes invalid. We predict theoretically and demonstrate experimentally an asymmetric topological pumping when the injected field transfers from one side of the waveguide array to the other side whereas the reverse process is unexpectedly forbidden. Our finding could open an avenue for exploring topological photonics that enables nontrivial topological phenomena and designs in photonics driven by nonparaxiality.