We propose a scheme for enhanced sensing of weak anharmonicities based on a three-mode anti-parity-time (anti-PT) symmetric cavity-magnon-waveguide system. By tuning the optical gain to the active cavity mode, the linewidth suppression point for the anti-PT symmetric Hamiltonian can be flexibly controlled even when the two dissipative magnonic modes experience strong intrinsic decay. This essential characteristic is utilized for detecting weak nonlinearities in both the cavity and magnonic modes, with both demonstrating similar high levels of sensitivity. Moreover, the sensitivity can be greatly improved with a detuned laser drive. Based on the integrated passive-active three-mode anti-PT symmetric system, the sensing scheme can be generalized to various physical systems with anharmonicities.
We propose a scheme for enhanced sensing of weak anharmonicities based on a three-mode anti-parity-time (anti-PT) symmetric cavity-magnon-waveguide system. By tuning the optical gain to the active cavity mode, the linewidth suppression point for the anti-PT symmetric Hamiltonian can be flexibly controlled even when the two dissipative magnonic modes experience strong intrinsic decay. This essential characteristic is utilized for detecting weak nonlinearities in both the cavity and magnonic modes, with both demonstrating similar high levels of sensitivity. Moreover, the sensitivity can be greatly improved with a detuned laser drive. Based on the integrated passive-active three-mode anti-PT symmetric system, the sensing scheme can be generalized to various physical systems with anharmonicities.
The efficient sensing of weak environmental perturbations via special degeneracies called exceptional points in non-Hermitian systems has attracted enormous attention in the last few decades. However, in contrast to the extensive literature on parity-time (PT) symmetric systems, the exotic hallmarks of anti-PT symmetric systems are only beginning to be realized now. Very recently, a characteristic resonance of vanishing linewidth in anti-PT symmetric systems was shown to exhibit tremendous sensitivity to intrinsic nonlinearities. Given the primacy of sensing in non-Hermitian systems, in general, and the immense topicality of anti-PT symmetry, we investigate the statistical bound to the measurement sensitivity for any arbitrary perturbation in a dissipatively coupled, anti-PT symmetric system. Using the framework of quantum Fisher information and the long-time solution to the full master equation, we analytically compute the Cram\'er-Rao bound for the system properties such as the detunings and the couplings. As an illustrative example of this formulation, we inspect and reaffirm the role of a long-lived resonance in dissipatively interacting systems for sensing applications.
Enhanced nonlinear characteristics with the assistance of a PT-symmetric trimer system
We study the parity-time (PT) symmetry characteristics and the applications to nonlinear optics in an optical trimer system consisting of two indirectly coupled standing-mode micro-cavities and a two-level quantum emitter (QE) placed at the intersection of two cavities. We find this trimer system can exhibit analogical phenomena as those in typical [Formula: see text]-symmetric dimer systems composed of a passive cavity directly coupled to an active cavity. This system, whose [Formula: see text] symmetry is demonstrated by our analytic results, can be transformed between the [Formula: see text]-symmetric phase and the [Formula: see text]-broken phase by adjusting relevant system parameters. Then, with this system, we observe both the linear and nonlinear parts of the transmission field become remarkably enhanced and can further reach peak values around the [Formula: see text] breaking point. In addition, we show the negative correlation between the gain degree of the linear (nonlinear) transmission part and decay rate of the QE. This trimer proposal is feasible for experiments and may provide a promising platform for [Formula: see text]-symmetric optics of low-light levels. Moreover, novel phenomena arising from the QE-cavity-coupling induced nonlinearity gain could be explored to fabricate photonic devices and controllable nonlinear optical media for quantum information process and communication of photons.
PT-symmetric cavity magnomechanics with gain-assisted transparency and amplification
We investigate magnomechanically induced transparency in a parity-time-symmetric cavity magnomechanical system with traveling-field-induced non-Hermiticity. The setup consists of a microwave cavity mode coupled to magnons in a single-crystal yttrium iron garnet sphere, which in turn are hybridized with a vibrational mechanical mode through magnetostrictive interaction. In the Hermitian regime, strong photon-magnon coupling generates a single transparency window in the cavity transmission, which splits into a doublet when the magnon is coherently hybridized with the mechanical mode via magnomechanical coupling. This establishes a versatile platform in which the transparency spectrum can be engineered from single- to multi-window response using experimentally accessible, scaled magnomechanical interactions. When a non-Hermitian coupling is introduced, the system enters a parity-time-broken regime in which the transparency ceases to be purely passive and becomes gain assisted, leading to asymmetric transmission with amplification on one side of the resonance and enhanced absorption on the other. By tuning the cavity detuning, we convert magnomechanical transparency into Fano-type line shapes with strongly non-Lorentzian phase dispersion and map their deformation into asymmetric, gain-assisted Fano ridges in the joint space of probe and magnon detunings. Finally, we analyze the associated group delay and show that both slow- and fast-light behavior can be widely tuned by varying the photon-magnon and magnomechanical couplings together with the non-Hermitian strength, highlighting parity-time-symmetric cavity magnomechanics as a promising platform for reconfigurable quantum signal processing and enhanced sensing.
Photonic spin Hall effect in PT-symmetric non-Hermitian cavity magnomechanics
Non-Hermitian cavity magnomechanics (CMM), which incorporates the magnon-photon and magnon-phonon interactions simultaneously, enables rich physical phenomena, including exceptional-point-enhanced sensing, and offers pathways toward topological transitions and nonreciprocal quantum transformation. These interactions exert a pivotal influence on the optical response of a weak probe field and pave the way for novel applications in quantum technologies. In this work, we consider a yttrium-iron-garnet (YIG) sphere coupled to a microwave cavity. The magnon mode of the YIG sphere is directly excited through microwave field coupling, whereas the cavity mode is probed via a weak-field interrogation scheme. The direct interaction of a traveling field with the magnon mode induces gain in the system, thereby establishing non-Hermitian dynamics. The parity-time (PT)-symmetric behavior of a hybrid non-Hermitian CMM is designed and investigated. Eigenvalue spectrum analysis demonstrates that a third-order exceptional point (EP_3) emerges under tunable effective magnon-photon coupling when the traveling field is oriented at an angle of π/2 relative to the cavity's x-axis. The photonic spin Hall effect (PSHE) in a reflected probe field is subsequently examined in such a system. Under balanced gain and loss conditions and in the presence of effective magnon-phonon coupling, tunable effective magnon-photon coupling enables coherent control of the PSHE across the broken PT-symmetric phase, at the EP_3, and in the PT-symmetric phase. Investigation reveals that the PSHE can be significantly enhanced or suppressed via effective magnon-photon coupling. The influence of intracavity length on the PSHE is further explored, providing an additional parameter for fine-tuning the transverse shift. These findings establish a direct correspondence between the PSHE and the underlying non-Hermitian eigenvalue spectrum.
Goos-Hänchen Shift in PT-Symmetric and Passive Cavity Optomechanical Systems
We theoretically investigate the control of the Goos-Hänchen shift (GHS) of a reflected weak probe field in both parity-time (PT)-symmetric and conventional optomechanical systems. The proposed scheme consists of a single optomechanical platform where a passive optical cavity is coupled to an active mechanical resonator, in contrast to standard passive-passive configurations. Analysis of the eigenfrequency spectrum reveals the emergence of an exceptional point under balanced gain-loss conditions at a tunable effective optomechanical coupling strength. Using the transfer-matrix method combined with stationary-phase analysis, we examine the GHS across broken and unbroken PT phases and compare it with that in the conventional system. The lateral shift exhibits strong phase dependence: it is markedly enhanced in the unbroken regime relative to both the broken phase and the passive configuration. We further show that the GHS can be actively tuned through the cavity detuning and the intracavity medium length. These results provide a controlled means for manipulating beam shifts in optomechanical systems and suggest pathways toward tunable photonic components and precision optical sensing.
Parity-time (PT) symmetric systems, which rely on the balanced gain-loss condition and render the Hamiltonian non-Hermitian, have provided a new platform to engineer effective light-matter interactions in recent years. Here we explore the high-order sideband features of the output fields obtained from a PT-symmetric optical system consisting of a passive nonlinear cavity coupled to an active linear cavity. By employing a perturbation technique, we derive analytic formulas used to determine the nonlinear transmission coefficient of optical second-order sideband in this structure. Using experimentally achievable parameters, it is clearly shown that the efficiency of the second-order sideband generation can be greatly enhanced in the PT-symmetric dimer, extremely in the vicinity of the transition point from unbroken- to broken-PT regimes. Moreover, we further analyzed the influences of the system parameters, including the photon-tunneling rate between two cavities, Kerr nonlinearity strength, and optical detuning, on the second-order sideband generation. Subsequently we investigate the higher-order sideband output spectrum by numerical simulations, where the sideband amplitude also is largely enhanced in the PT-symmetric arrangement, compared with the passive-passive double-cavity system. Our obtained results provide a new avenue for acquiring optical high-order sidebands and operating light, which may inspire further applications in chip-scale optical communications and optical frequency combs.