Role of losses and coupling in bright-dark metasurfaces mimicking non-Hermitian parity-time symmetric systems

Abstract

All real systems are essentially non-conservative in nature, which is non-Hermitian in the fundamental premises of the quantum realm. Such open systems obeying parity-time (PT) symmetry can offer intriguing physics, which has sparked much attention in recent years. The thoughtful interplay of loss and gain in PT-symmetric systems can tune the eigenstates from real to complex space passing through a singular point known as an exceptional point (EP) with concurrently coalescing the discrete eigenstates. In this regard, artificially engineered near-field coupled metasurfaces provide a remarkable podium to introduce as well as control loss and coupling strength simultaneously, manifesting a practical channel to attain EP. Motivated by this notion, we have theoretically explored near-field coupled dark-bright-mode assisted terahertz metasurfaces imitating a typical non-Hermitian PT-symmetric system. Structurally, such metasurfaces are realized by utilizing a pair of orthogonally twisted near-field coupled split-ring resonators (bright-dark-resonators). We have meticulously examined such a system with two distinctive approaches, i.e., the loss parameter and inter-resonator coupling strength. Eventually, our exploration demonstrates that judicious modulation of the loss parameter can invoke an undemanding route to approach the other wisely elusive exceptional point. We believe that this comprehensive study of non-Hermitian quantum systems in a photonic context can lead to the development of accurate and precise ultra-sensitive sensors besides other futuristic photonic devices.