Anti-Hermitian Optical Media with Gain and Loss

Abstract

Distributing loss and gain in different effective parameters of optical media suggests an alternative branch in the domain of non-Hermitian optics. In this conference talk, we contemplate an extreme scenario in which those optical media are anti-Hermitian and investigate various aspects of wave interactions with such media. Particularly, we show that it is possible to fully convert evanescent source fields to transmitted propagating waves and vice versa or to provide lasing effect creating both evanescent and propagating plane waves. We hope that this talk persuades the non-Hermitian optics community to consider anti-Hermiticity as an alternative feature for shaping light-matter interactions in unprecedented ways.