Descrizione del progetto
Abbattere le barriere di Anderson per i fotoni: salti improvvisi in mezzi non hermitiani
La localizzazione di Anderson è un famoso fenomeno quantistico descritto per la prima volta nel 1958 dal fisico teorico americano Philip Warren Anderson. Si tratta dell’assenza di onde di diffusione in un mezzo disordinato a causa delle riflessioni quantistiche nel reticolo che arrestano la funzione d’onda. Sebbene inizialmente siano stati studiati in relazione agli elettroni, i fotoni sono stati sempre più approfonditi, in particolare in relazione al modo in cui il disordine influisce sul trasporto dei fotoni in un reticolo cristallino. Il progetto Beyond_Anderson, finanziato dal Consiglio europeo della ricerca, sfrutterà il modo innovativo di trasporto recentemente scoperto nei mezzi non hermitiani fortemente localizzati, consentendo alla luce di attraversare la «terra proibita» di Anderson attraverso salti improvvisi. Il progetto studierà questi salti improvvisi in diversi contesti, forgiando un nuovo percorso sia nella fotonica disordinata che nei nuovi schemi di laser.
Obiettivo
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.
Campo scientifico
- natural sciencesphysical sciencescondensed matter physics
- natural sciencesmathematicsapplied mathematicsmathematical physics
- natural sciencesphysical sciencesoptics
- natural sciencesphysical sciencesclassical mechanicsfluid mechanics
- natural sciencesphysical sciencestheoretical physicsparticle physicsphotons
Programma(i)
- HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC) Main Programme
Argomento(i)
Meccanismo di finanziamento
ERC - Support for frontier research (ERC)Istituzione ospitante
70013 Irakleio
Grecia