Non-Hermitian gauged reciprocity and symmetry

TL;DR

This paper explores how non-Hermitian systems with imaginary vector potentials affect Lorentz reciprocity, revealing a new mathematical relation called non-Hermitian gauged reciprocity and demonstrating its implications through models and simulations.

Contribution

It introduces the concept of non-Hermitian gauged reciprocity, extending Lorentz reciprocity to non-Hermitian systems with imaginary vector potentials, supported by theoretical and simulation results.

Findings

Lorentz reciprocity is broken in non-Hermitian systems with imaginary vector potentials.

Non-Hermitian gauged reciprocity is a new mathematical relation governing this behavior.

Light propagation is unaffected by the non-Hermitian topological funnel effect.

Abstract

The Lorentz reciprocity is a fundamental property in electromagnetism and well known to break down due to an external magnetic field. With a fictitious or imaginary vector potential, however, its behavior is largely unknown. Here we show that in systems with an imaginary vector potential and displaying the non-Hermitian skin effect, the Lorentz reciprocity is broken but still governed by a rigorous mathematical relation, which we term non-Hermitian gauged reciprocity. When mimicking an imaginary vector potential using just linear integrated photonic elements, however, the conditions that lead to the Lorentz reciprocity are still satisfied and hence the latter cannot be broken. Nevertheless, we show that the non-Hermitian gauged reciprocity can still be observed with a proper choice of inputs and outputs, alongside the Lorentz reciprocity. In addition, we also reveal another equal-amplitude response in the same system, which we attribute to a non-Hermitian gauged symmetry. Furthermore, we show that light propagation is not impinged by the non-Hermitian topological funnel effect, highlighting an underappreciated difference between coherently driven and non-driven systems. These findings are confirmed using a tight-binding model and full-wave simulations of coupled optical micro-ring resonators, providing a valuable extension of the Lorentz reciprocity in the non-Hermitian domain.