Supersymmetric Laser Arrays

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates a supersymmetric laser array that emits solely in its fundamental mode, leveraging supersymmetry concepts from physics to improve laser design and potentially enhance integrated laser radiance.

Contribution

It introduces the first practical implementation of supersymmetry in laser arrays, enabling mode-selective emission and opening new avenues for laser scaling and fundamental physics insights.

Findings

Successfully realized a supersymmetric laser array

Achieved exclusive emission in the fundamental transverse mode

Potential to enhance integrated laser radiance

Abstract

The theoretical framework of supersymmetry (SUSY) aims to relate bosons and fermions -- two profoundly different species of particles -- and their interactions. While this space-time symmetry is seen to provide an elegant solution to many unanswered questions in high-energy physics, its experimental verification has so far remained elusive. Here, we demonstrate that, notions from supersymmetry can be strategically utilized in optics in order to address one of the longstanding challenges in laser science. In this regard, a supersymmetric laser array is realized, capable of emitting exclusively in its fundamental transverse mode. Our results not only pave the way towards devising new schemes for scaling up radiance in integrated lasers, but also on a more fundamental level, they could shed light on the intriguing synergy between non-Hermiticity and supersymmetry.