Photonics Research Feature Announcement
Non-Hermitian Photonics in Complex Media: PT-symmetry and beyond
Submission Open: 1 August 2017
Submission Deadline: 1 November 2017
The idea of parity-time (PT) symmetry, first introduced in quantum mechanics, was recently realized in the context of photonics in the form of balanced gain-loss structures with special symmetries. In recent years, these systems have been shown to have many exotic features and behaviors with various potential applications, including unidirectional invisibility, coherent perfect absorption, negative refraction, novel laser designs, optical isolation, and unusual wave diffraction dynamics. One of the main characteristics of such non-Hermitian configurations is the existence of abrupt effective phase transitions that occur when the gain-loss amplitude exceeds a certain threshold value, providing even greater control over device design and functionality. More general gain-loss structures can exhibit an even richer variety of non-Hermitian optical properties, and the breadth of these properties has yet to be fully explored.
We are soliciting papers for a special issue on a wide range of recent developments in the new area of parity-time (PT) symmetric and Non-Hermitian Optics, considering theoretical, experimental, and practical aspects of synthetic structures that contain gain and loss.
Topics of the special issue include:
- Parity-Time (PT) symmetric Optics
- Exceptional Point physics
- Symmetry breaking in complex lasers
- Gain and loss engineering
- Non-Hermitian dynamics in waveguides, cavities and photonic lattices
- Non-Hermitian metamaterials and plasmonics
- Topological effects in non-Hermitian and PT systems
Manuscripts must be prepared according to the usual standards for submission to Photonics Research. Manuscripts must be uploaded through OSA's electronic submission system. Please specify that the manuscript is for the PT-Symmetry feature issue (choose from the feature issue drop-down menu). Manuscripts will undergo the same peer review as other papers submitted to the journal. The standard Photonics Research article processing charges will apply.
Guest Editors
Greg Gbur, University of North Carolina, Charlotte, USA
Konstantinos Makris, University of Crete, Greece