Abstract
Abstract Charged particles like electrons moving in a magnetic field encounter Lorentz force, which governs the formation of electronic topological edge states in quantum Hall effect systems. Here we show that photons transporting in magneto-optical materials and structures also encounter a physical effect called photonic Lorentz force via the indirect interaction with the magneto-optical medium assisted effective magnetic field. This effect can induce half-cycle spiral motion of light at the surface of a homogeneous metallic magneto-optical medium and inhomogeneous magneto-optical photonic crystals, and it governs the intriguing one-way transport properties of robustness and immunity against defects, disorders, and obstacles. Thus, photonic Lorentz force serves as the fundamental microscopic origin of macroscopic photonic topological states, much the same as classical Lorentz force does to electronic topological states.
Highlights
Lorentz force [1], considered as one of the essential foundations of classical electrodynamics, originates from the magnetic field B working on a particle of charge q moving with a velocity v
Charged particles like electrons moving in a magnetic field encounter Lorentz force, which governs the formation of electronic topological edge states in quantum Hall effect systems
We have revealed that photons transporting in magneto-optical materials and structures will encounter photonic Lorentz force (PLF) via the indirect interaction of photons with the effective magnetic field assisted by the magneto-optical medium, similar to the situation for electrons in quantum Hall effect condensed matter systems
Summary
Inspired by the analogy between electrons and photons [3, 4], plenty of studies have been carried out on topological photonic states in different systems [5–15]. We report that there exists a physical effect that we call photonic Lorentz force (PLF), which causes a cyclotron motion of electromagnetic waves and photons in magneto-optical systems, being much the same as ELF does to electrons. This PLF can well explain the microscopic origin of topological photonic states and help to. One part radiates into the magneto-optical medium with attenuated amplitude because of the metallicity of magnetooptical material Such electromagnetic wave is deflected to the right- or left-hand side due to the PLF effect, leading to a unidirectional swirling motion of electromagnetic waves within a thin layer near the edge.
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