Photonic graphene with reconfigurable geometric structures in coherent atomic ensembles

Abstract

Photonic graphene, possesses a honeycomb-like geometric structure, provides a superior platform for simulating photonic bandgap, Dirac physics, and topological photonics. Here, the photonic graphene with reconfigurable geometric structures is demonstrated in a 5S_1/2 − 5P_3/2 − 5D_5/2 cascade-type ⁸⁵Rb atomic ensembles. A strong hexagonal-coupling field, formed by the interference of three identical coupling beams, is responsible for optically inducing photonic graphene in atomic vapor. The incident weak probe beam experiences discrete diffraction, and the observed pattern at the output plane of vapor cell exhibits a clear hexagonal intensity distribution. The complete photonic graphene geometries from transversely stretched to longitudinally stretched are conveniently constructed by varying the spatial arrangement of three coupling beams, and the corresponding diffraction patterns are implemented theoretically and experimentally to map these distorted geometric structures. Moreover, the distribution of lattice sites intensity in photonic graphene is further dynamically adjusted by two-photon detuning and the coupling beams power. This work paves the way for further investigation of light transport and graphene dynamics.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

atomic ensembles / photonic graphene / geometric structures / discrete diffraction

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 62075121), the Open Fund of MOE Key Laboratory of Weak-Light Nonlinear Photonics (OS 22-2) and Shanxi “1331 Project”.

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