Abstract: The guided transmission of optical waves is essential for modern applications in communication, information processing, and energy systems. Traditionally, light guiding in structures like optical fibers has been predominantly achieved through total internal reflection. In periodic structures, a range of other physical mechanisms can also facilitate optical wave transport. However, guiding light in fully dielectric, transversely non-periodic, passive materials remains challenging when total internal reflection is not viable. We introduce an approach to light trapping that leverages the unique properties of Lagrange points—a class of equilibrium positions analogous to those that capture Trojan asteroids in the Sun-Jupiter system. This is accomplished through optical Coriolis forces, which create guiding channels even in regions where the refractive index is defocusing or otherwise featureless. We also explore the potential of extending this mechanism, based on Lagrange points, to guide other wave species, notably charged particle beams in vacuum. As the first waveguide designed for charged particles and enabling transport in the ground state, this approach may open new avenues in particle acceleration, quantum sensing, and quantum computing.
Biography: Professor Mercedeh Khajavikhan joined the faculty of the University of Southern California in the Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering in August 2019 as an Associate Professor and was promoted to a full professor rank in January 2022. She has also a joint appointment at the Department of Physics & Astronomy at USC. She received her Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Minnesota in 2009. Subsequently, she joined the University of California in San Diego as a postdoctoral researcher, where she worked on the design and development of nanolasers, plasmonic devices, and silicon photonics components. In August 2012, she started her career as an Assistant Professor in the College of Optics and Photonics (CREOL) at the University of Central Florida (UCF), working primarily on unraveling novel phenomena in active photonic systems. She is the recipient of the NSF Early CAREER Award in 2015, the ONR Young Investigator Award in 2016, the DARPA Young Faculty Award in 2018, the University of central Florida Reach for the Stars Award in 2017, UCF Luminary Award in 2018, and DARPA Director’s Fellowship in 2020. She is a fellow of Optica (formerly known as Optical Society of America OSA) and a fellow of APS (American Physical Society). Her current research interests are in optical thermodynamics, charged particle guiding, novel laser arrays, as well as in topological and non-Hermitian photonics.
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