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Title: General theory of spontaneous emission near exceptional points

Journal Article · · Optics Express
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1364/OE.25.012325· OSTI ID:1465127
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [3];  [4];  [5];  [6];  [4]
  1. Harvard Univ., Cambridge, MA (United States). Dept. of Physics
  2. Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States). Research Lab. of Electronics; Technion-Israel Inst. of Tech., Haifa (Israel). Physics Dept. and Solid State Inst.
  3. Yale Univ., New Haven, CT (United States). Dept. of Applied Physics
  4. Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States). Dept. of Mathematics
  5. Princeton Univ., NJ (United States). Electrical Engineering Dept.
  6. Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States). Dept. of Physics

Here, we present a general theory of spontaneous emission at exceptional points (EPs)—exotic degeneracies in non-Hermitian systems. Our theory extends beyond spontaneous emission to any light–matter interaction described by the local density of states (e.g., absorption, thermal emission, and nonlinear frequency conversion). Whereas traditional spontaneous-emission theories imply infinite enhancement factors at EPs, we derive finite bounds on the enhancement, proving maximum enhancement of 4 in passive systems with second-order EPs and significantly larger enhancements (exceeding 400×) in gain-aided and higher-order EP systems. In contrast to non-degenerate resonances, which are typically associated with Lorentzian emission curves in systems with low losses, EPs are associated with non-Lorentzian lineshapes, leading to enhancements that scale nonlinearly with the resonance quality factor. Our theory can be applied to dispersive media, with proper normalization of the resonant modes.

Research Organization:
Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States); Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRC) (United States). Solid-State Solar-Thermal Energy Conversion Center (S3TEC)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC)
Grant/Contract Number:
SC0001299
OSTI ID:
1465127
Journal Information:
Optics Express, Vol. 25, Issue 11; ISSN 1094-4087
Publisher:
Optical Society of America (OSA)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 87 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Cited By (26)

Parity–Time Symmetry Synthetic Lasers: Physics and Devices journal August 2019
Light Interaction with Photonic and Plasmonic Resonances journal April 2018
Inverse design in nanophotonics journal October 2018
Observation of the exceptional-point-enhanced Sagnac effect journal December 2019
Ab-initio theory of photoionization via resonances journal May 2019
Large Sagnac frequency splitting in a ring resonator operating at an exceptional point journal September 2017
Cross-polarization mode coupling and exceptional points in photonic crystal slabs journal January 2018
Polarization dependence of the propagation constant of leaky guided modes journal April 2018
Modal expansion of the scattered field: Causality, nondivergence, and nonresonant contribution journal August 2018
Anisotropic exceptional points of arbitrary order journal June 2019
Nonreciprocal response theory of non-Hermitian mechanical metamaterials: Response phase transition from the skin effect of zero modes journal January 2020
Ab Initio Few-Mode Theory for Quantum Potential Scattering Problems journal January 2020
Topological states of non-Hermitian systems journal October 2018
Exceptional points for resonant states on parallel circular dielectric cylinders journal January 2019
Parity-time symmetry in periodically curved optical waveguides journal January 2018
Quantum interference and exceptional points journal January 2018
Fluctuations and noise-limited sensing near the exceptional point of parity-time-symmetric resonator systems journal January 2018
Bistable lasing in parity-time symmetric coupled fiber rings journal January 2018
Light-emitting metasurfaces journal July 2019
The Entanglement Generation in P T -Symmetric Optical Quadrimer System journal September 2019
Non-Hermitian robust edge states in one-dimension: Anomalous localization and eigenspace condensation at exceptional points text January 2017
Topological states of non-Hermitian systems text January 2018
Fluctuations and noise-limited sensing near the exceptional point of $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric resonator systems text January 2018
Modal Expansion of the Scattered Field: Causality, Non-Divergence and Non-Resonant Contribution text January 2018
Exceptional points for resonant states on parallel circular dielectric cylinders text January 2019
Nonreciprocal response theory of nonhermitian mechanical metamaterials: response phase transition from the skin effect of zero modes text January 2019

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