English

Advances in Synthetic Gauge Fields for Light Through Dynamic Modulation

Optics 2018-03-07 v1

Abstract

Photons are weak particles that do not directly couple to magnetic fields. However, it is possible to generate a photonic gauge field by breaking reciprocity such that the phase of light depends on its direction of propagation. This non-reciprocal phase indicates the presence of an effective magnetic field for the light itself. By suitable tailoring of this phase it is possible to demonstrate quantum effects typically associated with electrons, and as has been recently shown, non-trivial topological properties of light. This paper reviews dynamic modulation as a process for breaking the time-reversal symmetry of light and generating a synthetic gauge field, and discusses its role in topological photonics, as well as recent developments in exploring topological photonics in higher dimensions.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.1803.01977,
  title  = {Advances in Synthetic Gauge Fields for Light Through Dynamic Modulation},
  author = {Daniel Hey and Enbang Li},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1803.01977},
  year   = {2018}
}

Comments

20 pages, 3 figures

R2 v1 2026-06-23T00:43:12.661Z