Topological Switching via Exceptional Point Pairs in an Optical Microcavity Laser

TL;DR

This paper introduces a topological mode switching method in optical microcavities using exceptional point pairs, enabling robust, tunable, and efficient control through adiabatic encircling and topological protection.

Contribution

It presents a novel topological approach leveraging exceptional point pairs for robust mode switching in optical microcavities, overcoming limitations of previous non-adiabatic methods.

Findings

Achieves robust mode switching with topological protection.

Enables tunable Q-factor via adiabatic encircling.

Demonstrates robustness against noise and perturbations.

Abstract

Conventional mode switching mechanisms, which rely on dynamically encircling exceptional points (EPs) through non-adiabatic transitions (NATs), suffer from intrinsic nonlinear dynamics that hinder precise control and reproducibility in experimental settings. Additionally, these methods exhibit low transmission efficiencies due to path-dependent attenuation, limiting their effectiveness in optical switching and logic gate applications. To overcome these limitations, we propose a novel mode switching approach that leverages a pair of EPs configuration in an optical microcavity, characterized by superradiance and subradiance. This mechanism exploits the topological structure of the Riemann surface to enable robust mode switching control and tunable Q-factor through purely adiabatic encircling. Furthermore, topological protection validated via braid isotopy ensures robustness against noise and parametric perturbations, facilitating a compact, robust, and adaptive non-Hermitian system.