Seminarium Fizyki Ciała Stałego
sala 0.06, ul. Pasteura 5
2020-02-28 (10:15) 
dr hab. Jacek Szczytko (Wydział Fizyki Uniwersytet Warszawski)
Syntetyczne hamiltoniany dla fotonów: pole magnetyczne i spin-orbita w przestrajalnych wnękach optycznych
Synthetic Hamiltonians and spin-orbit engineering in tunable birefringent microcavities
Spin-orbit optical interactions in photonic systems exploit the analogy between the quantum mechanical description of electronic spin-orbit system and synthetic Hamiltonians derived for propagation of electromagnetic waves in dedicated spatial structures. Topological photonics carries a key promise for the development of integrated optical circuits – otherwise photons being uncharged cannot have their flow oriented by an electric field. We have invented a method to control electrically spin-orbit coupling (SOC) of light using specially designed photonic structures - birefringent microcavities.
In solid-state systems with broken inversion symmetry, SOC leads to the so-called Dresselhaus and Bychkov-Rashba SOC Hamiltonians, which are of particular interest in the context of spintronics, topological insulators, and superconductors. However, SOC in solid-state matter cannot be easily controlled and modified. The SOC effects of light stem directly from the solutions of Maxwell equations in structures designed at the spatial scales of the order of the wavelength, such as metamaterials or waveguides, as well as at interfaces. It led to the observation of an optical analogue of the spin Hall effect and the realization of artificial gauge fields.
Clever engineering of diverse gauge fields could provide control over physical parameters of quantum system. Using a liquid crystal–filled photonic cavity, our team managed to emulate an optical spin Hall effect for parameters range far beyond those previously considered experimentally and theoretically [1]. Recently we discovered Rashba-Dresselhaus spin-orbit coupling in a photonic system and showed control of an artificial Zeeman splitting [2]. Our results illustrate an effective approach of engineering artificial gauge fields and synthetic Hamiltonians with photons for the simulation of nontrivial condensed matter and quantum phenomena.
[1] K. Lekenta, et al., Tunable optical spin Hall effect in a liquid crystal microcavity. Light Sci. Appl. 7, 74 (2018).
[2] K. Rechcińska, et al. Photonic Engineering of Spin-Orbit Synthetic Hamiltonians in Liquid Crystal, Science 366, Issue 6466, pp. 727-730 (2019)
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-11/fopu-mpi111219.php
In solid-state systems with broken inversion symmetry, SOC leads to the so-called Dresselhaus and Bychkov-Rashba SOC Hamiltonians, which are of particular interest in the context of spintronics, topological insulators, and superconductors. However, SOC in solid-state matter cannot be easily controlled and modified. The SOC effects of light stem directly from the solutions of Maxwell equations in structures designed at the spatial scales of the order of the wavelength, such as metamaterials or waveguides, as well as at interfaces. It led to the observation of an optical analogue of the spin Hall effect and the realization of artificial gauge fields.
Clever engineering of diverse gauge fields could provide control over physical parameters of quantum system. Using a liquid crystal–filled photonic cavity, our team managed to emulate an optical spin Hall effect for parameters range far beyond those previously considered experimentally and theoretically [1]. Recently we discovered Rashba-Dresselhaus spin-orbit coupling in a photonic system and showed control of an artificial Zeeman splitting [2]. Our results illustrate an effective approach of engineering artificial gauge fields and synthetic Hamiltonians with photons for the simulation of nontrivial condensed matter and quantum phenomena.
[1] K. Lekenta, et al., Tunable optical spin Hall effect in a liquid crystal microcavity. Light Sci. Appl. 7, 74 (2018).
[2] K. Rechcińska, et al. Photonic Engineering of Spin-Orbit Synthetic Hamiltonians in Liquid Crystal, Science 366, Issue 6466, pp. 727-730 (2019)
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-11/fopu-mpi111219.php