Observation of chiral state transfer without encircling an exceptional point

The adiabatic theorem, a corollary of the Schrodinger equation, manifests itself in a profoundly different way in non-Hermitian arrangements, resulting in counterintuitive state transfer schemes that have no counterpart in closed quantum systems. In particular, the dynamical encirclement of exceptional points (EPs) in parameter space has been shown to lead to a chiral phase accumulation, non-adiabatic jumps and topological mode conversion(1-)(8). Recent theoretical studies, however, have shown that contrary to previously established demonstrations, this behaviour is not strictly a result of winding around a non-Hermitian degeneracy(9). Instead, it seems to be mostly attributed to the non-trivial landscape of the Riemann surfaces, sometimes because of the presence of an EP in the vicinity(9-)(11). Here, in an effort to bring this counterintuitive aspect of non-Hermitian systems to light and confirm this hypothesis, we provide a set of experiments to directly observe the field evolution and chiral state conversion in an EP-excluding cycle in a slowly varying non-Hermitian system. To do so, a versatile yet unique fibre-based photonic emulator is realized that utilizes the polarization degrees of freedom in a quasi-common-path single-ring arrangement. Our observations may open up new avenues for light manipulation and state conversion, as well as providing a foundation for understanding the intricacies of the adiabatic theorem in non-Hermitian systems.

Automated summary

The adiabatic theorem in non-Hermitian systems exhibits a different behavior compared to closed quantum systems, resulting in state transfer schemes that have no counterpart in closed systems. Recent studies have shown that this behavior is not solely a result of winding around a non-Hermitian degeneracy, but is mostly attributed to the non-trivial landscape of the Riemann surfaces. In order to confirm this hypothesis, experiments were conducted to observe the field evolution and chiral state conversion in a slowly varying non-Hermitian system.