Non-Hermitian systems based on 3D chirality enabled asymmetrical polarization switching and omni-polarizer action at an EP

Xianhui Fu; Hao Hu; Jiawei Zhang; Jiwei Qi; Sihao Zhang; Qiang Wu; Yao Lu; Zongqiang Chen; Jing Chen; Xuanyi Yu; Qian Sun; Jingjun Xu

doi:10.1038/s41377-025-01960-5

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Non-Hermitian systems based on 3D chirality enabled asymmetrical polarization switching and omni-polarizer action at an EP

Original Articles

- Non-Hermitian systems based on 3D chirality enabled asymmetrical polarization switching and omni-polarizer action at an EP
- Light: Science & Applications Vol. 14, Issue 12, Pages: 4086-4099(2025)
- Affiliations：
  
  Key Laboratory of Weak-Light Nonlinear Photonics, Ministry of Education, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Photonics and Technology of Information Science, TEDA Institute of Applied Physics and School of Physics, Nankai University, 300457 Tianjin, China
- Author bio：
  
  Jiwei Qi (qijw@nankai.edu.cn)
  Qian Sun (qiansun@nankai.edu.cn)
  Jingjun Xu (jjxu@nankai.edu.cn)
- Funds：
- DOI：10.1038/s41377-025-01960-5
  CLC：
- Received：02 August 2024，
  
  Revised：2025-07-09，
  
  Accepted：10 July 2025，
  
  Published Online：18 November 2025，
  
  Published：31 December 2025
- Accepted：
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Fu, X. H. et al. Non-Hermitian systems based on 3D chirality enabled asymmetrical polarization switching and omni-polarizer action at an EP. Light: Science & Applications, 14, 4086-4099 (2025).
DOI：

Fu, X. H. et al. Non-Hermitian systems based on 3D chirality enabled asymmetrical polarization switching and omni-polarizer action at an EP. Light: Science & Applications, 14, 4086-4099 (2025). DOI： 10.1038/s41377-025-01960-5.

摘要

Abstract

Asymmetric mode/state switching and omni-polarizer action have demonstrated application potential and can be realized in non-Hermitian systems

which required a slow encircling process in the non-Hermitian parameter space in general. Is it possible to achieve the above functions only at an exceptional point (EP) without the encircling process? Here

we propose constructing a non-Hermitian system using three-dimensional (3D) chiral materials to realize the above functions at an EP instead of through the encircling process. Our results show that the 3D chiral non-Hermitian system exhibits properties that are quite different from those of traditional non-Hermitian optical systems. In our system

the eigenstates are different when propagating forward and backward

thus enabling asymmetric state switching. At the EP

the degenerate eigenstates of forward and backward propagations of the system become mutually orthogonal

which enables the system to act as an omni-polarizer. Crucially

to validate our claims

we propose a straightforward and widely applicable method to adjust a 3D chiral non-Hermitian system from a state far from an EP to near an EP. Based on this

we construct a free-space optical 3D chiral non-Hermitian system experimentally to directly observe the evolution of light polarization states near the EP. The experimental results prove that the proposed optical systems can achieve asymmetric state switching and omni polarizers at the EP

which is consistent with our theoretical expectations. Our work holds promise for various 3D chiral non-Hermitian optical applications

such as highly sensitive chirality measurements and polarization manipulation.

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references

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