Rabi-like oscillation of photonic topological valley Hall edge states

Azimuthons induced by degenerate linear eigenmodes and their conversions under nonlinear modulation

A method for generating azimuthons in a nonlinear Kerr medium is presented. The findings indicate that azimuthons can be represented as a combination of two co-rotational azimuthally modulated degenerate linear eigenmodes, along with an additional shift in the propagation constant. Moreover, the conversions between azimuthons are showcased using longitudinal nonlinear modulation. The results reveal that, under the resonance condition, direct conversion between neighboring azimuthons is possible, leading to the emergence of Rabi oscillation. However, for non-neighboring azimuthons, direct conversion is less effective, requiring cascaded modulation for their conversion.

Geometric pattern evolution of photonic graphene in coherent atomic medium

The photonic graphene in atoms not only has the typical photonic band structures but also exhibits controllable optical properties that are difficult to achieve in the natural graphene. Here, the evolution process of discrete diffraction patterns of a photonic graphene, which is constructed through a three-beam interference, is demonstrated experimentally in a 5S_1/2 - 5P_3/2 - 5D_5/2 ⁸⁵Rb atomic vapor. The input probe beam experiences a periodic refractive index modulation when traveling through the atomic vapor, and the evolution of output patterns with honeycomb, hybrid-hexagonal, and hexagonal geometric profiles is obtained by controlling the experimental parameters of two-photon detuning and the power of the coupling field. Moreover, the Talbot images of such three kinds of periodic structure patterns at different propagating planes are observed experimentally. This work provides an ideal platform to investigate manipulation the propagation of light in artificial photonic lattices with tunable periodically varying refractive index.

Tailoring topological edge states with photonic crystal nanobeam cavities

The realization of topological edge states (TESs) in photonic systems has provided unprecedented opportunities for manipulating light in novel manners. The Su-Schrieffer-Heeger (SSH) model has recently gained significant attention and has been exploited in a wide range of photonic platforms to create TESs. We develop a photonic topological insulator strategy based on SSH photonic crystal nanobeam cavities. In contrast to the conventional photonic SSH schemes which are based on alternately tuned coupling strength in one-dimensional lattice, our proposal provides higher flexibility and allows tailoring TESs by manipulating mode coupling in a two-dimensional manner. We reveal that the proposed hole-array based nanobeams in a dielectric membrane can selectively tailor single or double TESs in the telecommunication region by controlling the coupling strength of the adjacent SSH nanobeams in both transverse and axial directions. Our finding provides an additional degree of freedom in exploiting the SSH model for integrated topological photonic devices and functionalities based on the well-established photonic crystal nanobeam cavity platforms.