Mainz 2026 – scientific programme
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Q: Fachverband Quantenoptik und Photonik
Q 17: Photonics and Biophotonics I
Q 17.4: Talk
Tuesday, March 3, 2026, 11:45–12:00, P 3
Experimental implementation of thermalisation in a nonlinear non-Hermitian optical lattice — •Julia Görsch1, Joshua Feis1, Andrea Steinfurth1, Sebastian Weidemann1, Georgios G. Pyrialakos2, Matthias Heinrich1, Mercedeh Khajavikhan2, Alexander Szameit1, and Demetrios N. Christodoulides2 — 1Institute of Physics, University of Rostock, Rostock, Germany — 2Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA
Optical thermodynamics has emerged as an efficient framework for describing and predicting the dynamics of strongly multimode, nonlinear systems. Yet, in non-Hermitian settings, many of the theoretically predicted effects have remained experimentally unexplored. Here, we report the first experimental observation of thermalisation in a nonlinear, non-Hermitian optical lattice using a platform based on coupled optical fiber loops. This arrangement emulates light propagation in a one-dimensional lattice by coupling two fiber loops of unequal length via a beam splitter, thereby mapping pulse evolution onto a doubly discrete (1+1)D lattice. Within this system, we engineer a pseudo-Hermitian lattice whose non-Hermiticity arises from anisotropic nearest-neighbor coupling, implemented via a tunable beam-splitting ratio combined with amplitude modulation. Following excitation with a superposition of eigenmodes, the system undergoes a clear thermalisation process - despite its intrinsic non-Hermiticity - revealing a previously inaccessible regime of non-Hermitian optical thermodynamics and opening the door to further experimental investigations.
Keywords: optical thermodynamics; non-Hermitian; nonlinear optics; photonic lattices