Dissipatively Coupled Waveguide Networks for Coherent Diffusive Photonics

Abstract

A photonic circuit is generally described as a structure in which light propagates by unitary exchange and transfers reversibly between channels. In contrast, the term `diffusive' is more akin to a chaotic propagation in scattering media, where light is driven out of coherence towards a thermal mixture. Based on the dynamics of open quantum systems, the combination of these two opposites can result in novel techniques for coherent light control. The crucial feature of these photonic structures is dissipative coupling between modes, via an interaction with a common reservoir. Here, we demonstrate experimentally that such systems can perform optical equalisation to smooth multimode light, or act as a distributor, guiding it into selected channels. Quantum thermodynamically, these systems can act as catalytic coherent reservoirs by performing perfect non-Landauer erasure. For lattice structures, localised stationary states can be supported in the continuum, similar to compacton-like states in conventional flat band lattices.

Accepted for publication in Nature Communications

References in corpus (8)

• Quantum walks of correlated particles
• Observation of a localized flat-band state in a photonic Lieb lattice
• Observation of bound states in Lieb photonic lattices
• Network of Time-Multiplexed Optical Parametric Oscillators as a Coherent Ising Machine
• Topological Transition in a Non-Hermitian Quantum Walk
• Quantum memories based on engineered dissipation
• Harnessing non-Markovian quantum memory by environmental coupling
• Quantum tight-binding chains with dissipative coupling

Cited by in corpus (13)

• Unraveling the Non-Hermitian Skin Effect in Dissipative Systems
• Probing bulk topological invariants using leaky photonic lattices
• Generating high-order quantum exceptional points in synthetic dimensions
• $\mathcal{P}\mathcal{T}$ symmetry and anti-symmetry by anti-Hermitian wave coupling and nonlinear optical interactions
• Anderson localization in dissipative lattices
• PT-symmetric quantum graphs
• Design of the coherent diffusive photon gun for generating non-classical states
• Probing the Topological Anderson Transition in Quasiperiodic Photonic Lattices via Chiral Displacement and Wavelength Tuning
• Integrated source of path-entangled photon pairs with efficient pump self-rejection
• Breaking reciprocity by designed loss
• Anomalous transport in periodic photonic chains with designed loss
• Topological state permutations in time-modulated non-Hermitian multiqubit systems with suppressed non-adiabatic transitions
• Conservation of Quantum Correlations in Multimode Systems with $U(1)$ Symmetry