Control of coherent backscattering by breaking optical reciprocity

Abstract

Reciprocity is a universal principle that has a profound impact on many areas of physics. A fundamental phenomenon in condensed-matter physics, optical physics and acoustics, arising from reciprocity, is the constructive interference of quantum or classical waves which propagate along time-reversed paths in disordered media, leading to, for example, weak localization and metal-insulator transition. Previous studies have shown that such coherent effects are suppressed when reciprocity is broken. Here we show that by breaking reciprocity in a controlled manner, we can tune, rather than simply suppress, these phenomena. In particular, we manipulate coherent backscattering of light, also known as weak localization. By utilizing a non-reciprocal magneto-optical effect, we control the interference between time-reversed paths inside a multimode fiber with strong mode mixing, and realize a continuous transition from the well-known peak to a dip in the backscattered intensity. Our results may open new possibilities for coherent control of classical and quantum waves in complex systems

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References in corpus (3)

• The rotational memory effect of a multimode fiber
• Observation of migrating transverse Anderson localizations of light in nonlocal media
• Extinction of coherent backscattering by a disordered photonic crystal with a Dirac spectrum

Cited by in corpus (6)

• Controlling light propagation in multimode fibers for imaging, spectroscopy and beyond
• Spin Hall effect of light in a random medium
• Reciprocity-induced symmetry in the round-trip transmission through complex systems
• Coherent Backscattering of Entangled Photon Pairs
• Magnetic field effects on one-dimensional Anderson localization of light
• Topological Effects of a Vorticity Filament on the Coherent Backscattering Cone