Direct observation of photonic Landau levels and helical edge states in strained honeycomb lattices
Year: 2020
Type: article
Abstract: We report the realization of a synthetic magnetic field for photons and polaritons in a honeycomb lattice of coupled semiconductor micropillars. A strong synthetic field is induced in both the s and p orbital bands by engineering a uniaxial hopping gradient in the lattice, giving rise to the formation of Landau levels at the Dirac points. We provide direct evidence of the sublattice symmetry breaking of the lowest-order Landau level wavefunction, a distinctive feature of synthetic magnetic fields. Our realization implements helical edge states in the gap between n = 0 and n = ±1 Landau levels, experimentally demonstrating a novel way of engineering propagating edge states in photonic lattices. In light of recent advances in the enhancement of polariton–polariton nonlinearities, the Landau levels reported here are promising for the study of the interplay between pseudomagnetism and interactions in a photonic system.
Source: Light Science & Applications
Authors: Omar Jamadi, Elena Rozas, Grazia Salerno, Marijana Milićević, Tomoki Ozawa, Isabelle Sagnes, Aristide Lemaître, Luc Le Gratiet, Abdelmounaim Harouri, Iacopo Carusotto, Jacqueline Bloch, Alberto Amo
Institutions: Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université de Lille, Laboratoire de Physique des Lasers, Atomes et Molécules, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Université Paris-Saclay, Centre de Nanosciences et de Nanotechnologies, RIKEN, RIKEN Center for Interdisciplinary Theoretical and Mathematical Sciences, University of Trento
Language: English
Subfield: Condensed Matter Physics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,975
Awards: G1185957321, G2006853280, G2586495754, G3424766381, Quantum Fluids of Light, Centre Européen pour les Mathématiques, la Physique et leurs Interactions, G4573766960, G504501666, G6718509927, G7147073238, ULNE, G8330836687, G8429337512, Polariton lattices: a solid-state platform for quantum simulations of correlated and topological states, G8938584776
OpenAlex ID: W3003415659