# Observation of Local Symmetry in a Photonic System

## TL;DR

This paper experimentally demonstrates how local symmetry influences light transport in photonic waveguide arrays, revealing distinctions between local, global, and non-symmetric configurations using a novel fabrication and probing approach.

## Contribution

It provides the first experimental validation of local symmetry effects in photonic systems using fs laser-written arrays.

## Key findings

- Local symmetry affects light propagation dynamics.
- Distinct behaviors observed for local, global, and non-symmetric structures.
- The method distinguishes different symmetry types effectively.

## Abstract

The concept of local symmetry is a powerful tool in predicting complex transport phenomena in aperiodic media. A nonlocal continuity formalism reveals how local symmetries are encoded into the dynamics of light propagation in discrete waveguide arrays governed by a Schr\"odinger equation. However, the experimental demonstration is elusive so far. We fabricate representative examples of locally symmetric, globally symmetric and fully non-symmetric configurations in fs laser-written photonic arrays and probe their dynamics. Our approach allows to distinguish all three types of structures.