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arXiv:1305.4908 · Physical Review A

PT -symmetric optical potentials in a coherent atomic medium

Jiteng Sheng, Mohammad‐Ali Miri, Demetrios N. Christodoulides, Min Xiao

Published Oct 14, 2013• 106 citations
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Abstract

We propose that a coherently prepared four-level atomic medium can provide a versatile platform for realizing parity-time ($\mathcal{PT}$) symmetric optical potentials. Different types of $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric potentials are proposed by appropriately tuning the exciting optical fields and the pertinent atomic parameters. Such reconfigurable and controllable systems may open up new avenues in observing $\mathcal{PT}$-related phenomena with appreciable gain-loss contrast in coherent atomic media.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.88.041803

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We propose that a coherently prepared four-level atomic medium can provide a versatile platform for realizing parity-time (PT\mathcal{PT}PT) symmetric optical potentials. Different types of PT\mathcal{PT}PT-symmetric potentials are proposed by appropriately tuning the exciting optical fields and the pertinent atomic parameters. Such reconfigurable and controllable systems may open up new avenues in observing PT\mathcal{PT}PT-related phenomena with appreciable gain-loss contrast in coherent atomic media.
We experimentally demonstrate PT-symmetric optical lattices with periodical gain and loss profiles in a coherently prepared four-level N-type atomic system. By appropriately tuning the pertinent atomic parameters, the onset of PT-symmetry breaking is observed through measuring an abrupt phase-shift jump between adjacent gain and loss waveguides. The experimental realization of such a readily reconfigurable and effectively controllable PT-symmetric waveguide array structure sets a new stage for further exploiting and better understanding the peculiar physical properties of these non-Hermitian systems in atomic settings.
We present a physical setup for realizing all-real-spectrum optical potentials with arbitrary gain-and-loss distributions in a coherent medium consisting of a cold three-level atomic gas driven by control and probe laser fields. We show that by the interference of Raman resonances and the Stark shift induced by a far-detuned laser field, tunable, non-parity-time (non-PT)\mathcal{PT})PT)-symmetric optical potentials with all-real spectra proposed recently by Nixon and Yang [Phys. Rev. A 93, 031802(R) (2016)] can be actualized physically. We also show that when the real parts of the non-PT\mathcal{PT}PT-symmetric optical potentials are tuned cross certain thresholds, phase transitions---where the eigenspectrum of the system changes from all real to complex---may occur and hence the stability of the probe-field propagation is altered. Our scheme can also be extended to high dimensions and to a nonlinear propagation regime, where stable optical solitons with power of the order of nano-Watts may be generated in the system.
We propose a scheme to realize a parity-time (PT) symmetric nonlinear system in a coherent atomic gas via electromagnetically induced transparency. We show that it is possible to construct an optical potential with PT symmetry due to the interplay among the Kerr nonlinearity stemmed from the atom-photon interaction, the linear potential induced by a far-detuned Stark laser field, and the optical gain originated from an incoherent pumping. Since the real part of the PT-symmetric potential depends only on the intensity of the probe field, the potential is nonlinear and its PT-symmetric properties are determined by the input laser intensity of the probe field. Moreover, we obtain the fundamental soliton solutions of the system and attain their stability region in the system parameter space. The dependence of the exceptional point (EP) location on the soliton maximum amplitude is also illustrated. The research results reported here open a new avenue for understanding the unique properties of PT symmetry of a nonlinear system. They are also promising for designing novel optical devices applicable in optical information processing and transmission.
We propose a scheme to realize parity-time (PT) symmetry via electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT). The system we consider is an ensemble of cold four-level atoms with an EIT core. We show that the cross-phase modulation contributed by an assisted field, the optical lattice potential provided by a far-detuned laser field, and the optical gain resulted from an incoherent pumping can be used to construct a PT-symmetric complex optical potential for probe field propagation in a controllable way. Comparing with previous study, the present scheme uses only a single atomic species and hence is easy for the physical realization of PT-symmetric Hamiltonian via atomic coherence.
Abstract Since the periodic parity‐time (PT)‐symmetric potential can possess unique properties compared to a single PT cell (with only two coupled components), various schemes have been proposed to realize PT symmetry in optical lattices. Here, a PT‐symmetric optical lattice is experimentally constructed with simultaneous gain and loss in an atomic medium. The gain and loss arrays are created in the four‐level N‐type configurations excited by spatially alternating strong and weak pump fields, respectively, which do not require discrete diffractions and can be realized more easily with more relaxed operating conditions. Also, the gain and loss coefficients can be modified independently. The dynamical behaviors of the system are investigated by measuring the phase difference between two adjacent gain and loss channels. The demonstrated PT‐symmetric lattice with easy accessibility and better tunability shows obvious advantages in exploiting more peculiar properties and great improvements in practical applications of periodic PT‐symmetric potentials.