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It is known that the Kramers-Kronig (KK) relation between real and imaginary parts of the optical susceptibility in the frequency domain can also be realized in the space domain, as first proposed in [Nat. Photonics 9(7), 436 (2015)10.1038/nphoton.2015.106]. We here study a mechanism to implement spatial KK relations in a cold atomic sample and use it to control unidirectional reflectionless for probe light incident from either the left or right side of the sample at will. In our model, the complex frequency dependent atomic susceptibility is mapped into a spatially dependent one, employing a far-detuned driving field of intensity linearly varied in space. The reflection of an incident light from one side of the sample can then be set to vanish over a specific frequency band directly by changing the driving field parameters, such as its intensity and frequency. Also, by incorporating the Bragg scattering into the spatial KK relation, the reflectivity from the opposite side of the sample, though typically small for realistic atomic densities, can be made to increase to improve the reflectivity contrast. The present scheme bears potentials for all-optical network applications that require controllable unidirectional light propagation.

We show that narrowband two-color entangled single Stokes photons can be generated in a ultra-cold atoms sample via selective excitation of two spontaneous four-wave mixing (SFWM) processes. Under certain circumstances, the generation, heralded by the respective common anti-Stokes photon, is robust against losses and phase-mismatching and is remarkably efficient owing to balanced resonant enhancement of the two four-wave mixing processes in a regime of combined induced transparency. Maximally color-entangled states can be easily attained by adjusting the detunings of the external couplings and driving fields, even when these are quite weak. (C) 2020 Optical Society of America under the terms of the OSA Open Access Publishing Agreement

Transport in a non-Hermitian trimerized lattice with one lossy site per unit cell exhibits a quantized mean displacement before decay characterized by a two-step phase transition from zero to unity through a fractional value. Such a peculiar behavior, sensitive to both the lattice parameters and the initial state, is shown to be closely related to the presence of two nondegenerate dark states decoupled from the lossy sites and correspond to two staggered band closing points. We further check that distinct topological phases can also be characterized by the total Zak phase and by the number of midgap edge states. Moreover, we demonstrate that the edge states are topologically protected and their localization can be controlled via the couplings imbalance. Our results are expected to be relevant for implementations of topological photonics such as those based on arrays of evanescently coupled waveguides.

We extend the Su-Schrieffer-Heeger model to include both an additional real intercell coupling and a complex intracell coupling whose phase can be interpreted as the Peierls phase associated with a synthetic gauge field. Using different Peierls phases, we can realize a heterostructure supporting a topologically protected interface state, depending on the existence of one trivial and two nontrivial phases of distinct winding numbers. The spatial adiabatic passage of this localized state from the inner interface to either open boundary can be attained simply by modulating the corresponding Peierls phase, while its decay or growth rate is controlled by the on-site parity-time symmetric loss and gain terms. Our results provide a scheme to achieve dynamical control of topologically protected states while being of potential interest to topological lasers with an adjustable spatial profile.

Fraunhofer light diffraction across a thin two-dimensional lattice of cold atoms subject to transverse hybrid modulations of two standing-wave crossed pump fields is seen to yield lopsided patterns of various degrees of symmetry. We show that one can fully restrain the diffraction of a weak incident probe to two diagonal or adjacent quadrants or even just to a single quadrant, depending on the phases of two standing-wave pumps and on the probe detuning. Different diffraction symmetries with respect to the axes or diagonals of the diffraction plane quadrants are interpreted here in terms of different out-of-phase interplay of absorption and dispersion periodic distributions, resulting from different combinations of Hermitian, $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric, and non-Hermitian modulations.

We investigate the storage and retrieval of a multiphoton probe field in cold Rydberg atoms with an effective method based on the superatom model. This probe field is found greatly attenuated in light intensity and two-photon correlation yet suffering little temporal broadening as a result of the partial dipole blockade of Rydberg excitation. In particular, the output field energy exhibits an intriguing saturation effect against the input field energy accompanied by an inhomogeneous nonclassical antibunching feature as a manifestation of the dynamic cooperative optical nonlinearity. Our numerical results are qualitatively consistent with those in a recent experiment and could be extended to pursue quantum information applications of nonclassical light fields.

The physics of the renormalization of the effective electron g factor by the confining potential in semiconductor nanostructures is theoretically investigated. The effective g factor for electrons in structures with interacting nanolayers, or coupled quantum wells (QWs), is obtained with an analytical and yet accurate multiband envelope-function solution, based on the linear $8\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}8\phantom{\rule{4pt}{0ex}}\mathrm{k}\ifmmode\cdot\else\textperiodcentered\fi{}\mathrm{p}$ Kane model for the bulk band structure. Both longitudinal and transverse applied magnetic fields are considered and the g-factor anisotropy (i.e., the difference between the two field configurations) is analyzed over the entire space spanned by the two structure parameters: the thickness of the active layers and the thickness of the tunneling barrier separating them. Two-dimensional anisotropy maps are constructed for symmetric and asymmetric InGaAs coupled QWs, with InP tunneling barriers, that reproduce exactly known single-layer or QW results, in different limits. The effects of the structure inversion asymmetry on the mesoscopic g-factor renormalization are also discussed, in particular the negative anisotropies for thin-layer structures. Such multilayer structures form an excellent testing ground for the theory, and the analytical solution presented, which is perfectly consistent over the whole space of parameters, leads to helpful expressions and can guide further research on the mechanisms of this mesoscopic renormalization.

The interplay between interference and absorption leads to interesting phenomena like coherent perfect absorption and coherent perfect transparency (CPA and CPT), which can be exploited for fully optical modulation. While it is known that it is possible to harness CPA and CPT for switching a strong signal beam with a weak control beam, it is not immediate that this process su ers from a fundamental compromise between the device e ciency (quantified by device loss and modulation depth) and the asymmetry between signal and control intensity desired for operation. This article quantifies this compromise and outlines a possible way to overcome it by means of a combination of optical gain and loss in the same photonic component. A general formulation and a specific device realization are both discussed. © 2018 Optical Society of America.

As the possibility to decouple temporal and spatial variations of the electromagnetic field, leading to a wavelength stretching, has been recognized to be of paramount importance for practical applications, we generalize the idea of stretchability from the framework of electromagnetic waves to massive particles. A necessary and sufficient condition which allows one to identify energetically stable configuration of a 1D quantum particle characterized by arbitrary large spatial regions where the associated wave-function exhibit a flat, non-zero profile is presented, together with examples on well-known and widely used potential profiles and an application to 2D models., Comment: 11 pages, 7 figures

Understanding the effects of disorder on the light propagation in photonic devices is of major importance from both fundamental and applied points of view. Unidirectional reflectionless and coherent perfect absorption of optical signals are unusual yet fascinating phenomena that have recently sparked an extensive research effort in photonics. These two phenomena, which arise from topological deformations of the scattering matrix $S$ parameters space, behave differently in the presence of different types of disorder, as we show here for a lossy photonic crystal prototype with a parity-time antisymmetric susceptibility or a more general non-Hermitian one.

In optical experiments one-sided reflectionless (ORL) and coherent perfect absorption (CPA) are unusual scattering properties yet fascinating for their fundamental aspects and for their practical interest. Although these two concepts have so far remained separated from each other, we prove that the two phenomena are indeed strictly connected. We show that a CPA–ORL connection exists between pairs of points lying along lines close to each other in the 3D space-parameters of a realistic lossy atomic photonic crystal. The connection is expected to be a generic feature of wave scattering in non-Hermitian optical media encompassing, as a particular case, wave scattering in parity-time (PT) symmetric media.

Large cross-phase shifts per photon can be attained through an all-optical polarization control of dipole blockade in Rydberg atoms. A pair of weak circularly polarized signal and control light pulses experience a giant nonlinear cross-interaction through the conditional excitation of a Rydberg state. Conditional cross-phase modulations on the order of pi-radians may be attained under specific symmetric EIT quasi-resonant driving conditions at large degrees of transparency. We also suggest the possibility of extending our scheme to work at very low intensities and within a few-blockade-radii regions. Copyright (C) EPLA, 2018