Photonic lattices of coaxial cables: flat bands and artificial magnetic fields

TL;DR

This paper introduces a platform using coaxial cable networks to realize photonic lattice models with flat bands and artificial magnetic fields, enabling exploration of topological effects and nonlinearities.

Contribution

It proposes a practical coaxial cable network setup to simulate photonic lattices, including methods to manipulate band structures and induce artificial gauge fields.

Findings

Identification of flat bands and Dirac points in the lattice dispersion

Method to displace Dirac points to create artificial magnetic fields

Technique to isolate the flat band energetically

Abstract

We propose the use of networks of standard, commercially-available coaxial cables as a platform to realize photonic lattice models. As a specific example, we consider a brick wall lattice formed from coaxial cables and T-shaped connectors. We calculate the dispersion of photonic Bloch waves in the lattice: we find a repeated family of three bands, which include a flat band and two Dirac points. We then demonstrate a method to displace the Dirac points, leading to an induced artificial gauge field, and a method to energetically isolate the flat band. Our results readily suggest that the interplay of nonlinearities and non-trivial topology are a natural avenue to explore in order to unlock the full power of this proposed platform.