Phys org January 31, 2018
An international team of researchers (Israel, Brazil) has theoretically demonstrated a new way to bring light to a standstill at “exceptional points”. Exceptional points can be created in waveguides by varying the gain/loss parameters so that two light modes coalesce. The loss of light can be fixed by using waveguides with parity-time symmetry, as this symmetry ensures that the gain and loss are always balanced. To release the stopped light and accelerate it back up to normal speed, the gain/loss parameters can be reversed. Unlike most other methods that are used to stop light, the new method can be tuned to work with a wide range of frequencies and bandwidths, including acoustic waves, which may offer an important advantage for future slow-light applications… read more. TECHNICAL ARTICLEÂ
Artistic image. Credit: pixabay