Jeffrey Rable

Physics 590
David Weiss
19 October 2016
Report 1: Summary of Mikael Rechtsmans Talk
ABSTRACT
Mikael Rechtsmans research group LEPTOS studies photonics, focusing
on topological phenomena in photonic lattices. These lattices act similar to
crystals in many ways, allowing for the study of topological phenomena like
in matter, while presenting a handful of key differences that provide new
opportunities for both the study of these phenomena and for the study of
new, solely optical occurrences. In order to study these lattices, members of
LEPTOS use both a combination of theory and experiment, giving them
greater control over their research they both predict new physics and then
test it themselves. Additionally, because of the favorable properties of
photonic devices, such as low power consumption compared to typical
electronics, this research group also explores the potential applications of
their work.
I. TOPOLOGICAL INSULATORS
Topological insulators are states of matter that act as insulators in the
bulk of their material but harbor freely conducting edge states. In materials,
these edge states consist of pairs of electrons moving in opposite directions
with opposite spins. Thus, if one were to rewind the system in time, they

would see exactly the same system that they saw in normal, forward time.
Thus, the edge states possess time reversal symmetry the system appears
the same whether time moves forwards or backwards [1]. However, if one
breaks this time reversal symmetry such as by introducing a magnetic field
they create a new state in the material. This new edge state no longer
scatters at defects in the lattice, which act as a potential bump, protecting
the state against various defects [see Fig. 1]. This protection keeps the state
from decohering, giving it a wide range of potential applications, such as in
quantum computing, where one needs to keep a quantum state coherent
long enough to manipulate and read off qubits, and in metrology, as one can
measure the protected states with great accuracy.

FIG. 1. This diagram presents a rough picture of what occurs at a defect.

Rather than both scattering off and transmitting through the defect, these
surface states will solely transmit across. This perfect transmission occurs
regardless of the shape of the potential V(x) it need not be a step function.
[M. Rechtsman, Physics 590 Talk, (Pennsylvania State University, State
College, 2016)]

II. TOPOLOGICAL STATES IN PHOTONICS

Rechtsmans group studies topological insulators not by looking at
these materials, but by looking at a photonic crystal that has a Verdet
constant (meaning it experiences a non-negligible Faraday Effect, so the
photons polarization will change with applied magnetic fields). In these
crystals, which are composed of a large 2D array of waveguides, one can
produce edge states like in topological insulators by breaking symmetry.
Additionally, the vibrational modes of the individual waveguides overlap,
allowing light to tunnel between the neighboring waveguides in the lattice.
One can analyze this new photonic lattice using Maxwells equations.
By applying the envelope approximation (equation (1)), which assumes
propagating waves are contained within an additional, slowly varying
envelope, one can derive an equation for its propagation that looks almost
exactly like Schrdingers equation, called the Paraxial Schrdinger equation
(equation (2)).
E ( x , y , z )= x^ (x , y , z)ei (k z t )
o

i z =

1 2
k
n( x , y , z)
2k
no

(1)

(2)

This new system acts like a topological insulator, but with some
important distinctions. Firstly, the edge states are not protected against
backscattering in general, but against transverse backscattering (see FIG. 2).

Secondly, the system does not actually possess time reversal symmetry.
Instead, the system possesses symmetry along the z-direction, the direction
along which light propagates in the waveguides. This additional spatial
dimension in photonic lattices behaves exactly like time along the surfaces of
material lattices, providing a major advantage over traditional topological
insulator research instead of breaking time reversal symmetry to produce
topologically protected edge states, one can simply break symmetry along
the Z-direction. This can be done by replacing the straight waveguides with a
helical structure.
This helical structure effectively applies a coordinate transform to our
system. The x coordinate becomes

x ' =x+ R cos z

and the y coordinate

'
becomes y = y + R sin z , while the z coordinate remains unchanged. This

coordinate transform, when applied to our original Paraxial Schrdinger

equation, gives us back the original equation but with an added time
dependent gauge field, which behaves like a rotating force. This new Paraxial
Schrdinger equation can then be analyzed using Floquet theory, which
allows us to analyze quantum systems that are periodic in time (analogous to
Bloch theory, which enables the analysis of potentials periodic in space).
Because of the complexity of our new gauge field, one must also apply the
tight-binding approximation to the lattice. This approximation assumes that
our electrons (photons) do not interact with one another and only feel a

potential force coming from their corresponding atom (waveguide) in the

lattice.
Now, as with normal crystals, one arrives at an effective periodic
Hamiltonian that provides the photonic crystal with a band structure, which
tells us what energies our new states can (or cannot) lie at. Forbidden
energies in a band are referred to as a band gap. In our original lattice of
straight waveguides, the system contained no band gaps between the
valence and conducting bands. However, the photonic crystal composed
of helical waveguides does contain a bandgap. Inside this gap, the photonic
crystal contains nonscattering topological states, which travel along the
surface of the photonic crystal in the clockwise direction, but not the
counterclockwise direction.

(a)

(b)

FIG. 2. This diagram represents how the photonic lattice prevents scattering.
In (a), one can see light diffracting through the bulk, showing that we do not
have an edge state, while in (b) one can see an edge state protected against
scattering. [M. Rechtsman, Physics 590 Talk, (Pennsylvania State University,
State College, 2016)]
Rechtsmans group has already experimentally tested this theory by
analyzing the group velocity of waves moving through the photonic crystal
versus the radius of the helical waveguides. They found that, as you increase
the helix radius from zero (straight waveguides), the group velocity
increases, then reaches a maximum and starts to decrease. Eventually, it
reaches a point where the band gap closes, acting like a topological rip in
the surface. These experimental results closely matched their predictions
obtained using the tight-binding model.
The group has also tested the robustness of these states against
defects by removing some waveguides along the edge of the lattice. Rather
than scattering off this empty space in the lattice, as one would typically
expect, the light passes around it and continues along the surface.
Additionally, if by arranging the photonic crystal lattice in certain
structures, such as a honeycomb lattice, one gets a nonlinear Floquet
equation, which leads to the creation of solitons, quasiparticles with finite
mass and energy that arise as solutions to nonlinear partial differential
equations. In this case, the eigenstates produce potential wells around

themselves and enter self-induced edge states [3]. These solitons provide a
rich potential area of study because nonlinear solutions to the Schrdinger
equation appear in many areas, such as Bose-Einstein condensates
containing interactions between atoms, but are difficult to study.
Other topics researched in LEPTOS include non-hermitian photonics,
photonic topological transitions, topological physics on silicon chips, photonic
Weyl points, and THz topological photonics. These areas have potential
applications both in the discovery of new physical phenomena and in
potential future devices, such as in computing.
III. CONCLUSION
Ultimately, Rechtsmans group focuses on photonics with a strong
emphasis on topological phases. Through a combination of theoretical
analysis and carefully prepared experiments, members of this group both
search for new phenomena and then experimentally test for their existence.
One of the primary focuses of this group involves working with photonic
lattices, which can be used to create various topological states, offering both
glimpses at new physics and potential applications in future devices.
IV. REFERENCES
[1] S. Murakami, J. of Phys.: Conference Series. 302 (2011)
[2] N. Manton, Topological Solitons, unpublished, (2007)

[3] Y. Lumer, Y. Plotnik, M. C. Rechtsman, M. Segev, Self-localized states in

photonic topological insulators, Phys. Rev. Lett. 111, p. 243905, 2013.