Continuum Of Modes Research Articles

Energetics and quantumness of Fano coherence generation

In a multi-level quantum system Fano coherences stand for the formation of quantum coherences due to the interaction with the continuum of modes characterizing an incoherent process. In this paper we propose a V-type three-level quantum system on which we certify the presence of genuinely quantum traits underlying the generation of Fano coherences. We do this by determining work conditions that allows for the loss of positivity of the Kirkwood-Dirac quasiprobability distribution of the stochastic energy changes within the discrete system. We also show the existence of nonequilibrium regimes where the generation of Fano coherences leads to a non-negligible excess energy given by the amount of energy that is left over with respect to the energy of the system at the beginning of the transformation. Excess energy is attained provided the initial state of the discrete system is in a superposition of the energy eigenbasis. We conclude the paper by studying the thermodynamic efficiency of the whole process.

Dynamical theory of single-photon transport through a qubit chain coupled to a one-dimensional nanophotonic waveguide

We study the dynamics of a single-photon pulse traveling through a linear qubit chain coupled to continuum modes in a one-dimensional (1D) photonic waveguide. We derive a time-dependent dynamical theory for qubits’ amplitudes and for transmitted and reflected spectra. We show that the requirement for the photon-qubit coupling to exist only for positive frequencies can significantly change the dynamics of the system. First, it leads to the additional photon-mediated dipole-dipole interaction between qubits which results in the violation of the phase coherence between them. Second, the spectral lines of transmitted and reflected spectra crucially depend on the shape of the incident pulse and on the initial distance between the pulse center and the first qubit in the chain. We apply our theory to one-qubit and two-qubit systems. For these cases we obtain the explicit expressions for the qubits’ amplitudes and for the photon radiation spectra as time tends to infinity. Specific calculations are performed for superconducting qubits operating in GHz frequency range. For the incident Gaussian wave packet we calculate the line shapes of transmitted and reflected photons.

Germanium metasurface near-infrared high-q absorber with symmetry-protected bound states in the continuum

The all-dielectric germanium nanohole (GNH) metasurface with a sub-wavelength thickness supports simultaneous excitation of quasi bound state in the continuum (BIC) and super radiant mode. By selecting the different hole depths in a germanium slab, we present a trade-off metasurface between high Q-factor and high absorption in the photonic system. The presented device demonstrated absorption of super-radiant mode ∼98.5% and quasi-BIC ∼93% without back-metal reflector at the telecommunication wavelength. The numerical results, obtained by the finite difference time domain (FDTD) method are explained in the framework of temporal coupled mode theory (TCMT).

Second Harmonic Generation from exciton-polaritons: Strong coupling between monolayer WS[formula omitted] and multilayer WSe[formula omitted] metasurfaces Quasibound states in the continuum

The second harmonic generation (SHG) from exciton-polaritons, produced by the strong coupling between quantum emitters and cavity photons, can provide a unique insight for controlling nonlinear responses on the nanoscale. Achieving SHG generally depends on phase matching, limited by nonlinear materials and nanostructure fabrication. Here, we demonstrate a novel way to obtain tunable SHG from van der Waals metasurfaces composed of nanostructured multilayer WSe2 strong coupling with monolayer WS2. By breaking symmetry via varying the metasurface unit tilted angle and period, quasibound state in the continuum (q-BIC) mode resonances energy is tuned across the monolayer WS2 exciton resonance energy, enabling anticrossing behavior of strong coupling in both reflection spectrum and SHG spectrum, which means that SHG was successfully observed by strong coupling. Furthermore, the SHG spectrum can be tuned by changing the armchair direction of the monolayer WS2 and pump polarization direction. Moreover, the mechanism of exciton-polaritonic SHG is investigated by a coupled nonlinear oscillator model, which reveals the SHG origin from exciton-polaritons, providing a new rule for fine-tuning the SHG. Our work provides a new strategy and additional freedom in the nonlinear light-matter interaction and coherent control of the SHG in integrated photonic devices.

Asymmetric dumbbell dimers simultaneously supporting quasi-bound states in continuum and anapole modes for terahertz biosensing

Abstract Multi-resonant metasurfaces are of great significance in the applications of multi-band nanophotonics. Here, we propose a novel metasurface design scheme for simultaneously supporting quasi-bound states in continuum (QBIC) and other resonant modes, in which QBIC resonance is generated by mirror or rotational symmetry breaking in oligomers while other resonant modes can be simultaneously excited by rationally designing the shapes of meta-atoms within oligomers. As an example, the simultaneous excitation of QBIC and anapole modes are demonstrated in a dimer metasurface composed of asymmetric dumbbell-shaped apertures. Based on the far-field multipole decomposition and near-field electromagnetic field distributions, the origin mechanisms of QBIC and anapole mode are elucidated. The symmetry breaking of dumbbell-shaped dimer results in QBIC. Within a certain asymmetric variation range, the contributions of toroidal dipole moment and electric dipole moment with approximately equal magnitudes remain dominant, which allows the anapole mode to always present. The effectiveness of the proposed design scheme is further confirmed by the experimental results identical with the evolutions of numerical simulation. In terahertz biosensing experiments, the anapole mode exhibits a higher sensitivity of 271.3 GHz (nmol/μl)−1, whereas the QBIC can achieve a lower detection limit of 0.015 nmol/μl and expands the detection range by almost an order of magnitude. Our findings are beneficial to designing multi-resonant metasurfaces with different resonance modes and promote the corresponding applications in the fields of biosensing, lasers, filtering, and nonlinearity.

Hair cells in the cochlea must tune resonant modes to the edge of instability without destabilizing collective modes.

Sound produces surface waves along the cochlea's basilar membrane. To achieve the ear's astonishing frequency resolution and sensitivity to faint sounds, dissipation in the cochlea must be canceled via active processes in hair cells, effectively bringing the cochlea to the edge of instability. But how can the cochlea be globally tuned to the edge of instability with only local feedback? To address this question, we use a discretized version of a standard model of basilar membrane dynamics, but with an explicit contribution from active processes in hair cells. Surprisingly, we find the basilar membrane supports two qualitatively distinct sets of modes: a continuum of localized modes and a small number of collective extended modes. Localized modes sharply peak at their resonant position and are largely uncoupled. As a result, they can be amplified almost independently from each other by local hair cells via feedback reminiscent of self-organized criticality. However, this amplification can destabilize the collective extended modes; avoiding such instabilities places limits on possible molecular mechanisms for active feedback in hair cells. Our work illuminates how and under what conditions individual hair cells can collectively create a critical cochlea.

Ultra‐Low Loss Lithium Niobate Polarizer with Enhanced Anti Bound State in the Continuum

AbstractThin film lithium niobate (TFLN) has emerged as a promising platform for photonic integrated circuits (PICs). However, the polarization crosstalk is usually inevitable owing to its birefringence. Polarizers, as key polarization handling devices, are essential to ensure polarization purity in PICs. In this work, a novel ultra‐low loss polarizer is proposed and demonstrated based on the enhanced anti‐bound state in the continuum (anti‐BIC) on TFLN. With meticulously designed waveguide width, constructive interference occurs for the leaky modes, such that transverse magnetic (TM) bound mode can drastically couple into the continuum modes, leading to high propagation loss for TM polarization. Meanwhile transverse electric (TE) polarization remains bound with high optical confinement, hence low propagation loss. Furthermore, it have demonstrated that angled sidewalls can facilitate the mode conversion from bound mode into continuum mode in lithium niobate (LN), which can be an efficient method for controlling the bound mode coupling into the continuum. Ultra‐low loss of <≈0.04 dB and compact footprint of 46 µm are experimentally demonstrated from 1460 to 1600 nm for the fabricated polarizer.

Dimensional dependence of a molecular-polariton mode number

Vibrational and electronic strong coupling of light with molecular excitations has shown promise for modifying chemical reaction rates. However, the Tavis–Cummings model often used to model such polaritonic chemistry considers only a single discrete cavity mode coupled with the molecular modes, while experimental systems generally consist of a larger number of molecules in cavities with a continuum of modes. Here, we model the polaritonic effects of multimode cavities of arbitrary dimensions and filled with a large number of molecules. We obtain the dependence of the effects on the dimensionality of the cavity, the molecular oscillator strength, and molecular concentration. Combining our model with the transition state theory, we show that polaritonic effects can be altered by a few orders of magnitude compared to including only a single cavity mode, and that the effect is stronger with a larger molecular dipole moment and molecular concentration. However, the change remains negligibly small for realistic chemical systems due to the large number of dark states.

Effectively detecting cardiac myoglobin by use of bound states in the continuum in silicon nitride gratings

Optical biosensors with their sensitivity, compact design, and reliability stand out as versatile tools capable of detecting a wide range of analytes. Recently, nanophotonic structures supporting bound states in the continuum (BIC) modes have been actively studied, which is especially interesting for biosensing applications due to their high quality (Q) factor and strongly localized electric field, achieving favorable interaction between field and nanometer scale analyte on the sensing surface. Herein, we demonstrate an optical label-free sensing by accidental or Friedrich–Wintgen (FW) BIC supported on silicon nitride gratings. We compared the sensing performance in terms of bulk, and surface sensitivity, and figure of merit with FW-BIC in the leaky regime and with a symmetry-protected (SP) BIC, which are also supported by the studied platform. We exploit the fact that for FW-BIC a high-Q factor up to 498 comparable to that of SP-BIC (up to 425) retains for a much larger set of interrogation angles, providing excellent interrogation stability. We observed that FW-BIC has slightly higher bulk sensitivity than SP-BIC [186 and 158 nm/RIU (refractive index unit), respectively], but at the same time similar characteristics in terms of surface sensitivity and figure of merit. In addition, we show that both BIC resonances are significantly superior in all respects to the leaky regime due to better field confinement. Finally, the surface of sensing device was also functionalized to detect a cardiac biomarker, myoglobin, exhibiting the limit of detection of 49 ng/ml with clinically relevant level.

Tunable terahertz absorber based on quasi-BIC supported by a graphene metasurface

In this paper, a tunable terahertz (THz) absorber operating at a quasi-bound state in the continuum (quasi-BIC) mode supported by a graphene metasurface is proposed. There are two graphene strips and a fully covered graphene layer in one unit cell. By breaking the symmetrical arrangement of graphene stripes, the symmetry-protected BIC transforms into a quasi-BIC mode. The reflective configuration results in high-Q absorption of the metadevice at the quasi-BIC mode with the equivalent impedance matching the impedance in free space. The change in the Fermi level of graphene can cause a frequency shift in the position of the absorption peak at the quasi-BIC mode. Benefiting from the high Q-value and narrow linewidth of the quasi-BIC, the frequency shift of the absorption peak can easily exceed its linewidth. At this time, the designed THz absorber can be used as a switch, and the “on” and “off” states are achieved by tuning the Fermi level of graphene. Under normal incidence, the modulation depth of the absorption type THz switch can reach up to 99% with the insertion loss only 0.062 dB. Within the range of incident angle inclination approaching 10°, the absorption type THz switch can still achieve more than 90% modulation depth and insertion loss below 0.1 dB. Due to the characteristics of large modulation depth, low insertion loss, and wide angle incidence, the designed tunable THz absorber has great application prospects in fields such as THz communication and THz wavelength division multiplexing.

Biorthogonal Majorana zero modes, ELC waves and soliton-fermion duality in non-Hermitian sl(2) affine Toda coupled to fermions

We study a non-Hermitian (NH) sl(2) affine Toda model coupled to fermions through soliton theory techniques and the realizations of the pseudo-chiral and pseudo- Hermitian symmetries. The interplay of non-Hermiticity, integrability, nonlinearity, and topology significantly influence the formation and behavior of a continuum of bound state modes (CBM) and extended waves in the localized continuum (ELC). The non-Hermitian soliton-fermion duality, the complex scalar field topological charges and winding numbers in the spectral topology are uncovered. The biorthogonal Majorana zero modes, dual to the NH Toda solitons with topological charges 2πargz=±i=±1\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$ \\frac{2}{\\pi}\\arg \\left(z=\\pm i\\right)=\\pm 1 $$\\end{document}, appear at the complex-energy point gap and are pinned at zero energy. The zero eigenvalue λ(z = ± i) = 0, besides being a zero mode, plays the role of exceptional points (EPs), and each EP separates a real eigenvalue A\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$ \\mathcal{A} $$\\end{document}-symmetric and A\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$ \\mathcal{A} $$\\end{document}-symmetry broken regimes for an antilinear symmetry A∈PTγ5PT\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$ \\mathcal{A}\\in \\left\\{\\mathcal{PT},{\\gamma}_5\\mathcal{PT}\\right\\} $$\\end{document}. Our findings improve the understanding of exotic quantum states, but also paves the way for future research in harnessing non-Hermitian phenomena for topological quantum computation, as well as the exploration of integrability and NH solitons in the theory of topological phases of matter.

High-quality factor Quasi-BIC mode via selective symmetry-breaking approach in a terahertz metasurface

This study numerically and experimentally presents a novel approach to excite bound state in the continuum (BIC) mode with a high Q-factor in the THz meta-molecule (composition of meta-atoms) system, leveraging a unique method of selective symmetry breaking in a ring-shaped metamolecule system. Unlike conventional strategies that uniformly disrupt the symmetry across all resonators to excite a quasi-BIC mode, this innovative technique targets only half of the unit cell for symmetry perturbation. This selective symmetry breaking minimizes radiative losses and enhances the Q-factor of the quasi-bound states in continuum (quasi-BIC) modes. The selective symmetry breaking is achieved in a ring-shaped metamolecule system by simple radial perturbation. The results depict a notable improvement in the Q-factor, achieving values as high as 107 in simulation, a significant enhancement compared to the uniformly symmetry-breaking approach, which exhibits Q-factors around 25.80. The experimental transmission spectrum and the near-field scanning images firmly validate the existence of the high Q BIC mode under this strategic symmetry-breaking approach. This work may open new avenues for developing advanced THz devices with promising applications in sensing, filtering, and non-linearity in the THz domain.

Anisotropy-induced band transition and merging of bound states in the continuum in gratings

We propose the grating systems composed of anisotropic material and study the tunability of such anisotropy to the evolutions of bound states in the continuum (BICs) and leaky mode, as well as the band flip between odd- and even-mode. The dependence of band transitions on the permittivity anisotropy is given in the single-layer grating lattice. By further introducing the freedom of interlayer shift, different numbers of band closures (zero, two and four) can be achieved during one shift period in a bilayer grating system. Besides, we also investigate the merging and transition of accidental BICs in a thicker grating structure, and analyze the asymptotic behavior of Q factor in such process. These studies elucidate the important effect of anisotropy on leaky-mode resonance and may supplement the research of band dynamics in isotropic grating systems.

Antioxidative Triplet Excitation Energy Transfer in Bacterial Reaction Center Using a Screened Range Separated Hybrid Functional.

Excess energy absorbed by photosystems (PSs) can result in photoinduced oxidative damage. Transfer of such energy within the core pigments of the reaction center in the form of triplet excitation is important in regulating and preserving the functionality of PSs. In the bacterial reaction center (BRC), the special pair (P) is understood to act as the electron donor in a photoinduced charge transfer process, triggering the charge separation process through the photoactive branch A pigments that experience a higher polarizing environment. At this work, triplet excitation energy transfer (TEET) in BRC is studied using a computational perspective to gain insights into the roles of the dielectric environment and interpigment orientations. We find in agreement with experimental observations that TEET proceeds through branch B. The TEET process toward branch B pigment is found to be significantly faster than the hypothetical process proceeding through branch A pigments with ps and ms time scales, respectively. Our calculations find that conformational differences play a major role in this branch asymmetry in TEET, where the dielectric environment asymmetry plays only a secondary role in directing the TEET to proceed through branch B. We also address TEET processes asserting the role of carotenoid as the final triplet energy acceptor and in a mutant form, where the branch pigments adjacent to P are replaced by bacteriopheophytins. The necessary electronic excitation energies and electronic state couplings are calculated by the recently developed polarization-consistent framework combining a screened range-separated hybrid functional and a polarizable continuum mode. The polarization-consistent potential energy surfaces are used to parametrize the quantum mechanical approach, implementing Fermi's golden rule expression of the TEET rate calculations.

Nonreciprocal Dissipation Engineering via Strong Coupling with a Continuum of Modes

Nonreciprocal Dissipation Engineering via Strong Coupling with a Continuum of Modes

Efficient and Shape-Sensitive Manipulation of Nanoparticles by Quasi-Bound States in the Continuum Modes in All-Dielectric Metasurfaces.

Current optical tweezering techniques are actively employed in the manipulation of nanoparticles, e.g., biomedical cells. However, there is still huge room for improving the efficiency of manipulating multiple nanoparticles of the same composition but different shapes. In this study, we designed an array of high-index all-dielectric disk antennas, each with an asymmetric open slot for such applications. Compared with the plasmonic counterparts, this all-dielectric metasurface has no dissipation loss and, thus, circumvents the Joule heating problem of plasmonic antennas. Furthermore, the asymmetry-induced excitation of quasi-bound states in continuum (QBIC) mode with a low-power intensity (1 mW/µm2) incidence imposes an optical gradient force of -0.31 pN on 8 nm radius nanospheres, which is four orders of magnitude stronger than that provided by the Fano resonance in plasmonic antenna arrays, and three orders of magnitude stronger than that by the Mie resonance in the same metasurface without any slot, respectively. This asymmetry also leads to the generation of large optical moments. At the QBIC resonance wavelength, a value of 88.3 pN-nm will act on the nanorods to generate a rotational force along the direction within the disk surface but perpendicular to the slot. This will allow only nanospheres but prevent the nanorods from accurately entering into the slots, realizing effective sieving between the nanoparticles of the two shapes.

Giant enhancement of second harmonic generation via merging bound states in the continuum for vacuum ultraviolet radiation

Vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) light plays a crucial role in various scientific and technological fields, such as nanolithography and biomedical treatments. However, the inherent nonlinear optical coefficient of nonlinear optical crystals is typically very low, and increasing the action length is often necessary to improve the nonlinear conversion efficiency. This makes it challenging for these materials to achieve high-density optoelectronic integration at the micro-/nano-scale. In this study, we propose a design for generating coherent VUV radiation close to 175 nm using second harmonic generation (SHG) with an absolute efficiency exceeding 1.2‰ mW−1. This is achieved by merging multiple bound state in the continuum modes in a free-standing photonic crystal slab. Even with fabrication imperfections at a level lower than 10% disorder, the SHG efficiency of the samples remains robust, maintaining an efficiency of at least 2‰. This research provides a beneficial platform for generating efficient VUV light in the nanoscale.

Nonlinear beat wave decay of Kelvin/diocotron waves on a two-dimensional vortex

We describe theory and experiments investigating nonlinear beat wave decay of diocotron modes on a nonneutral plasma column (or Kelvin waves on a vortex). Specifically, a Kelvin/diocotron pump wave varying as Ap exp [i(lpθ−ωpt)] decays into two waves: a Kelvin/diocotron daughter wave with exponentially growing amplitude Ad(t), mode number ld<lp, and frequency ωd; and an exponentially growing “beat wave” with mode number lb and frequency ωb. Nonlinear wave–wave coupling requires lb=lp−ld and ωb=ωp−ωd. The new theory simplifies and extends a previous weak-turbulence theory for the exponential growth rate of this instability, by instead using an eigenmode expansion to describe the beat wave as a wavepacket of continuum (Case/van Kampen) modes. The new theory predicts the growth rate, the nonlinear frequency shift (both proportional to Ap2), and the functional form of the beat wave, with amplitude proportional to ApAd*(t). Experiments observe beat wave decay on electron plasma columns for a range of mode numbers up to lp=5 and ld = 4, with results in quantitative agreement with the theory, including the ld = 1 case for which measured growth rates are negligible, as expected theoretically.

A Study of Cultural-Loaded Words Translation in The Classic of Tea from the Perspective of Translator Behavior Criticism

As the earliest surviving monograph on tea, The Classic of Tea, namely the encyclopedia of tea, has been translated into Japanese, English, French, German and etc. It had a profound impact on the study of tea in China and even in the world. This book contains interdisciplinary knowledge, systemically listing various aspects of tea studies, and accordingly there are a series of cultural-loaded words. Cultural-loaded word is an eternal topic in the translation of Chinese classic, and how translators appropriately deal with cultural-loaded words has become one of the vital factors affecting the effect of readers’ reception and book promotion. Based on the truth-seeking-utility-attaining continuum mode of evaluation, this paper evaluates the translation of cultural-loaded words in The Classic of Tea from Library of Chinese Classic Series, and to explore the dynamic impact of the translator’s behavior on the transmission of cultural connotations across languages. It is found that the translators are more inclined to utility side to reduce the reading barriers that cultural-loaded words bring to the readers.

Solution‐Processed Perovskite Quantum Dot Quasi‐BIC Laser from Miniaturized Low‐Lateral‐Loss Cavity

AbstractLaser devices produced via solution‐processed perovskite quantum dots (QDs) offer broad spectral tunability as well as ease of fabrication. Utilizing quasi‐bound states in the continuum (quasi‐BIC) modes, solution‐processed QD laser devices have been demonstrated with a nanostructure coated in a thin‐film gain media configuration. However, light leakage through thin‐film guiding from the cavity side edges becomes more pronounced when shrinking the cavity size, posing challenges for the miniaturization of quasi‐BIC‐based lasers. Here, the fabrication of well‐defined patterns of QDs via a solution process allows them to take advantage of the pattern edges to reduce losses through the cavity edges. A single‐mode BIC laser is reported by using CsPbBr3 QDs with a narrow linewidth of ≈0.1 nm. Importantly, a miniaturized quasi‐BIC laser is realized with a device size as small as 10 × 10 µm2, making it the smallest among existing solution‐processed BIC lasers. This work provides a strategy for developing ultra‐compact BIC lasers via solution‐processed gain media.