Descripción del proyecto
Romper las barreras de Anderson para fotones: saltos repentinos en medios no hermitianos
La localización de Anderson es un conocido fenómeno cuántico descrito en 1958 por Philip Warren Anderson, un físico teórico estadounidense. Este postula que lo que detiene la función de onda es la ausencia de ondas de difusión en un medio desordenado debido a las reflexiones cuánticas en la red. Aunque inicialmente se estudió en relación con los electrones, cada vez se ha investigado más con fotones, en concreto cómo el desorden afecta al transporte de fotones en una red cristalina. El equipo del proyecto Beyond_Anderson, financiado por el Consejo Europeo de Investigación, empleará su innovadora forma de transporte descubierta hace poco en medios no hermitianos con una marcada localización de Anderson, lo que permitirá a la luz cruzar la «tierra prohibida» de Anderson mediante saltos repentinos. En el proyecto se investigarán estos saltos repentinos en diferentes contextos, lo que creará nuevas oportunidades en el campo de la fotónica como en esquemas láser novedosos.
Objetivo
This proposal is centered around the recently discovered (by the PI) ground-breaking way of transport in strongly Anderson localized non-Hermitian media. Initially Anderson localization was studied on electrons but it was later realized that photons provide an alternative cleaner route. However, one fundamental problem of photonics is that of inherent material losses. As the paradigm of parity-time symmetric optics indicates, the resolution of this problem is the judicious combination of gain and loss via index engineering. Such non-Hermitian paradigm provides the opportunity to overcome Anderson localization after sixty years by proposing a novel way of transport unique in the complex photonic media, something that is experimentally impossible in condensed matter physics. The key idea is the inclusion of appropriate gain-loss index profiles that allow light to cross the forbidden land of Anderson via sudden jumps, despite the fact that all eigenstates are localized. My proposal is focused on four directions that span out of the main theme of sudden jumps. The first one is the role of openness in the most general case of uncorrelated disorder. A second open question is that of existence of jumps in correlated media that support constant-intensity states. For both questions the maximization of the effect based on wavefront shaping and index engineering is important. A third question is the possibility of topologically protected jumpy transport in disordered topological insulators. Finally, I intend to examine the more difficult and fundamental problem of many-body effects on non-Hermitian jumpy transport. The underlying mathematical framework, is that of non-Hermitian random matrix theory and pseudospectrum, a widely used method in turbulence studies of fluid mechanics. My project is expected to open a new path in both disordered photonics that exploit the unique features of non-Hermiticity, namely extreme sensitivity, exceptional points, and novel lasing schemes.
Ámbito científico
- natural sciencesphysical sciencescondensed matter physics
- natural sciencesmathematicsapplied mathematicsmathematical physics
- natural sciencesphysical sciencesoptics
- natural sciencesphysical sciencesclassical mechanicsfluid mechanics
- natural sciencesphysical sciencestheoretical physicsparticle physicsphotons
Programa(s)
- HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC) Main Programme
Régimen de financiación
ERC - Support for frontier research (ERC)Institución de acogida
70013 Irakleio
Grecia