Topological Photon Transport in Programmable Photonic Processors via Discretized Evolution of Synthetic Magnetic Fields

• URL: http://arxiv.org/abs/2509.13184v2
• Date: Wed, 17 Sep 2025 11:26:46 GMT
• Title: Topological Photon Transport in Programmable Photonic Processors via Discretized Evolution of Synthetic Magnetic Fields
• Authors: Andrea Cataldo, Rohan Yadgirkar, Ze-Sheng Xu, Govind Krishna, Ivan Khaymovich, Val Zwiller, Jun Gao, Ali W. Elshaari,
• Abstract summary: We demonstrate synthetic gauge fields for light on a programmable photonic processor.<n>This approach reveals features of topological transport: chiral circulation that reverses under drive inversion, flux-controlled interference with high visibility, and robust directional flow stabilized by maximizing the minimal Floquet quasi-energy gap.<n>Results establish discretized, gap-optimized Floquet evolution as a versatile and fully programmable framework for topological photonics.
• Score: 2.7426231474877603
• License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Abstract: Photons, unlike electrons, do not couple directly to magnetic fields, yet synthetic gauge fields can impart magnetic-like responses and enable topological transport. Discretized Floquet evolution provides a controlled route, where the time-ordered sequencing of non-commuting Hamiltonians imprints complex hopping phases and breaks time-reversal symmetry. However, stabilizing such driven dynamics and observing unambiguous topological signatures on a reconfigurable platform has remained challenging. Here we demonstrate synthetic gauge fields for light on a programmable photonic processor by implementing discretized Floquet drives that combine static and dynamic phases. This approach reveals hallmark features of topological transport: chiral circulation that reverses under drive inversion, flux-controlled interference with high visibility, and robust directional flow stabilized by maximizing the minimal Floquet quasi-energy gap. The dynamics are further characterized by a first-harmonic phase order parameter, whose per-period winding number quantifies angular drift and reverses sign with the drive order. These results establish discretized, gap-optimized Floquet evolution as a versatile and fully programmable framework for topological photonics, providing a compact route to engineer gauge fields, stabilize driven phases, and probe winding-number signatures of chiral transport.

Related papers

• Constructing Arbitrary Coherent Rearrangements in Optical Lattices [36.94429692322632]
  Coherent control of motional degrees of freedom of ultracold atoms in optical lattices offers a promising route towards programmable quantum dynamics with massive particles.<n>We propose and analyze a scheme for implementing coherent rearrangement of ultracold atoms, corresponding to arbitrary unitary transformations on single-particle motional states.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2026-03-04T15:57:12Z)
• Unconventional Floquet topological phases in the SSH lattice [36.136619420474766]
  Topological materials, known for their edge states robust against local perturbations, hold promise for next-generation quantum technologies.<n>We propose to use high-frequency monochromatic driving and modulated amplitude pulses to dynamically induce and switch the Floquet topological phases.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2025-07-22T10:34:58Z)
• Tailoring transport in quantum spin chains via disorder and collisions [41.94295877935867]
  We investigate the interplay of disorder and time-homogeneous collisional noise in shaping the transport dynamics of anisotropic XXZZ spin chain.<n>We find that space-homogeneous and low-rate collisions can shape regions where localization sets in the form of subsequent plateaus.<n>Our findings can be applied to design stroboscopic protocols where sequences of transport and localization can be tailored.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2025-02-21T15:11:58Z)
• Non-Markovian Multiphoton Chiral Dynamics with Giant Systems [3.950340390752244]
  We study the non-Markovian multiphoton regime in a giant nonlinear system nonlocally coupled to a one-dimensional waveguide.<n>We show that single-photon transport remains reciprocal, but multiphoton dynamics become chiral.<n>We uncover nonreciprocal dissipative phase transitions and demonstrate how non-Markovianity shapes the critical response.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2024-07-08T07:12:39Z)
• Quantized topological energy pumping and Weyl points in Floquet synthetic dimensions with a driven-dissipative photonic molecule [2.846808930414845]
  Topological effects manifest in a wide range of physical systems. Dissipation is generally detrimental to such topological effects. Topological energy pumping in the incommensurately modulated photonic molecule is enhanced by the driven-dissipative nature of our platform.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2023-05-03T16:19:21Z)
• Real-space detection and manipulation of topological edge modes with ultracold atoms [56.34005280792013]
  We demonstrate an experimental protocol for realizing chiral edge modes in optical lattices. We show how to efficiently prepare particles in these edge modes in three distinct Floquet topological regimes. We study how edge modes emerge at the interface and how the group velocity of the particles is modified as the sharpness of the potential step is varied.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2023-04-04T17:36:30Z)
• Wave packet dynamics and edge transport in anomalous Floquet topological phases [0.0]
  An anomalous Floquet topological phase can in general generate more robust chiral edge motion than a Haldane phase. Our results demonstrate that the rich interplay of wave packet dynamics and topological edge states can serve as a versatile tool in ultracold quantum gases in optical lattices.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2023-02-16T18:45:49Z)
• Topological multi-mode waveguide QED [49.1574468325115]
  We show how to take advantage of topologically protected propagating modes by interfacing them with quantum emitters. Such capabilities pave the way for generating quantum gates among topologically protected photons as well as generating more complex entangled states of light in topological channels.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2022-07-05T14:48:50Z)
• Tuning long-range fermion-mediated interactions in cold-atom quantum simulators [68.8204255655161]
  Engineering long-range interactions in cold-atom quantum simulators can lead to exotic quantum many-body behavior. Here, we propose several tuning knobs, accessible in current experimental platforms, that allow to further control the range and shape of the mediated interactions.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2022-03-31T13:32:12Z)
• Accessing the topological Mott insulator in cold atom quantum simulators with realistic Rydberg dressing [58.720142291102135]
  We investigate a realistic scenario for the quantum simulation of such systems using cold Rydberg-dressed atoms in optical lattices. We perform a detailed analysis of the phase diagram at half- and incommensurate fillings, in the mean-field approximation. We furthermore study the stability of the phases with respect to temperature within the mean-field approximation.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2022-03-28T14:55:28Z)
• Edge mode manipulation through commensurate multifrequency driving [0.0]
  We explore the impact of commensurate multifrequency driving protocols on the stability of topological edge modes in 1D systems of spinless fermions. We show that all the topological phase transitions can be mapped to their single-frequency counterparts in terms of effective driving parameters. We illustrate our findings on three paradigmatic fermionic systems -- namely the Kitaev chain, the Su-Schrieffer-Heeger model, and the Creutz ladder.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2020-04-20T18:00:00Z)

This list is automatically generated from the titles and abstracts of the papers in this site.

This site does not guarantee the quality of this site (including all information) and is not responsible for any consequences.