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Parity‐time (PT) and anti‐parity‐time (anti‐PT) symmetries have provided important guiding principles in the research of non‐Hermitian physics. However, realizations of anti‐PT symmetry in photonic systems usually rely on optical nonlinearities and indirect‐coupling approaches. Here, they apply the channel interference principle mediated by synthetic gauge‐flux biasing in open‐cavity systems to construct anti‐PT symmetries. It is shown that a specific π‐flux biasing into a looped‐resonator array can force a frequency degeneracy between pairwise Bloch modes therein. By further coupling the array into two external waveguides with tailored positions of ports, the system near the degeneracy point can be described by an anti‐PT‐symmetric Hamiltonian. When a real gauge‐flux detuning is introduced, the system undergoes a spontaneous transition between anti‐PT and anti‐PT‐broken phases, through which the two extreme cases of complete channel‐drop tunneling and complete tunneling suppression can be switched. Finally, by superimposing a PT‐symmetric term onto the anti‐PT‐symmetric Hamiltonian via applying an imaginary gauge‐flux biasing, extreme channel‐drop amplifying effects can be further realized by exciting the "lasing" mode under the critical‐coupling condition. The work bridges the physical connection between synthetic gauge field and anti‐PT symmetry. This paradigm may also find many applications from optical routing, and switching to buffering and amplifying on a chip–scale platform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dynamic localization (DL) refers to a wavefunction confinement effect of electrons in periodic lattices under an ac electric field driving. Recent studies have transplanted DLs from electronic to photonic systems using periodically curved waveguide lattices, where the ac electric field is mimicked by the waveguide's bending curvature. However, due to the severe limitations of bending losses and poor tunability for highly curved, arbitrarily shaped waveguides, present studies mainly focus on DL under the simplest sinusoidal‐wave driving; its extension to an arbitrary‐wave driving remains challenging. Here, by constructing a synthetic temporal lattice with a coupled fiber‐loop circuit, the limitations of spatially curved waveguides are circumvented and generalized DLs are experimentally demonstrated under arbitrary‐wave driving. First, by applying band‐collapse criteria, the general conditions for the driving field's symmetry to achieve DLs are revealed. Then, two representative even‐function driving fields of square‐ and triangle‐waveforms are chosen, and wave‐packet revivals are observed as signatures of DLs. As a counter‐example, the breakdown of DL is also verified using odd‐function driving field of sawtooth‐waveform. The work reveals the conditions for realizing generalized DLs and experimentally verifies them using synthetic lattice schemes. This paradigm may find potential applications in versatile temporal‐waveform reshaping, pulse manipulations for optical communications, and signal processing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The electron response of nanoplasmon and nanoplasma in the laser field is greatly important for improving the functionality and efficiency of many potential applications. However, how and under what conditions the nanoplasmon‐nanoplasma transition works remains poorly understood due to radiation damage and charge buildup. Utilizing the combined aerodynamic lens and velocity map imaging spectrometer, this transition mediated by different mechanisms are demonstrated, as verified by the distinct photoelectron momentum distributions from Cu nanoparticles. Initially the polarization‐dependent distributions emphasize the domination of surface emission driven by the plasmonic field. Subsequently the transition starts and the competition of volume‐multiphoton and thermionic emission plays the intermediate state dominating the transition process. Finally, a complete plasma is generated with the leading role of thermionic emission, which is confirmed by first observing the correlated electronic decay in metal nanoparticles. These findings bridge the gap between electron emission in nanoplasmonic and nanoplasma states and identify the mechanism‐specific contributions, which will offer general principles for designing nanostructure and laser fields to control electron excitation and emission in practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Here we report on the hybrid nanostructures where a single ZnS nanobelt was half-covered with an aluminum (Al) film, which is an ideal platform for studying the second-harmonic generation (SHG) enhancement effects of the Al coating. It was fabricated by the lift-off process and allowed for the accurate comparison of the SHG intensity between the Al-covered and the same bare ZnS nanobelt under consistent test conditions. The results indicate that the Al coating in the hybrid nanostructures not only confines the pumping laser in the ZnS effectively, but also concentrates the emitted SHG signal greatly, increasing the signal collection efficiency. By the combination of these two effects, ∼60 times enhancement of the SHG intensity is achieved at the optimized geometry size (width and thickness) of the ZnS nanobelts. The Al-based hybrid nanostructures open up new possibilities for low-cost, highly efficient and directional coherent nanolight sources at short wavelengths. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]