English

Complex Edge-State Phase Transitions in 1D Topological Laser Arrays

Optics 2018-03-21 v1

Abstract

We report the first observation of lasing in topological edge states in a 1D Su-Schrieffer-Heeger active array of resonators. We show that in the presence of chiral-time (CT\mathcal{CT}) symmetry, this non-Hermitian topological structure can experience complex phase transitions that alter the emission spectra as well as the ensued mode competition between edge and bulk states. The onset of these phase transitions is found to occur at the boundaries associated with the complex geometric phase- a generalized version of the Berry phase in Hermitian settings. Our experiments and theoretical analysis demonstrate that the topology of the system plays a key role in determining its operation when it lases: topologically controlled lasing.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.1709.00523,
  title  = {Complex Edge-State Phase Transitions in 1D Topological Laser Arrays},
  author = {Midya Parto and Steffen Wittek and Hossein Hodaei and Gal Harari and Miguel A. Bandres and Jinhan Ren and Mikael C. Rechtsman and Mordechai Segev and Demetrios N. Christodoulides and Mercedeh Khajavikhan},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1709.00523},
  year   = {2018}
}
R2 v1 2026-06-22T21:31:08.231Z