Abstract
From generation of backscatter-free transmission lines, to optical isolators, to chiral Hamiltonian dynamics, breaking time-reversal symmetry is a key tool for development of next-generation photonic devices and materials. Of particular importance is the development of time-reversal-broken devices in the low-loss regime, where they can be harnessed for quantum materials and information processors. In this work, we experimentally demonstrate the isolation of a single, time-reversal-broken running-wave mode of a moderate-finesse optical resonator. Nonplanarity of the optical path produces a round-trip geometrical (Pancharatnam) polarization rotation, breaking the inversion symmetry of the photonic modes. The residual time-reversal symmetry between forward-–backward- modes is broken through an atomic Faraday rotation induced by an optically pumped ensemble of atoms residing in the resonator. We observe a splitting of 6.3 linewidths between time-reversal partners and a corresponding optical isolation of ∼20.1(4) dB, with 83(1)% relative forward cavity transmission. Finally, we explore the impact of twisted resonators on T-breaking of intracavity Rydberg polaritons, a crucial ingredient of photonic materials and, specifically, topological optical matter. As a highly coherent approach to time-reversal breaking, this work will find immediate application in the creation of photonic materials and also in switchable narrow-band optical isolators.
- Received 11 September 2017
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.97.013802
©2018 American Physical Society
Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)
Synopsis
Twisted Cavity Is a One-Way Light Path
Published 3 January 2018
A cavity containing spin-polarized atoms can serve as an optical isolator that breaks time-reversal symmetry by letting only forward-moving light pass.
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