Linear optical approach to supersymmetric dynamics*

Abstract

The concept of supersymmetry developed in particle physics has been applied to various fields of modern physics. In quantum mechanics, the supersymmetric systems refer to the systems involving two supersymmetric partner Hamiltonians, whose energy levels are degeneracy except one of the systems has an extra ground state possibly, and the eigenstates of the partner systems can be mapped onto each other. Recently, an interferometric scheme has been proposed to show this relationship in ultracold atoms [Phys. Rev. A 96 043624 (2017)]. Here this approach is generalized to linear optics for observing the supersymmetric dynamics with photons. The time evolution operator is simulated approximately via Suzuki–Trotter expansion with considering the realization of the kinetic and potential terms separately. The former is realized through the diffraction nature of light and the later is implemented using a phase plate. Additionally, we propose an interferometric approach which can be implemented perfectly using an amplitude alternator to realize the non-unitary operator. The numerical results show that our scheme is universal and can be realized with current technologies.