Ewold Verhagen

Abstract Artificial magnetic fields break time-reversal symmetry in engineered materials—also known as metamaterials, enabling robust, topological transport of neutral excitations, much like edge channels facilitate electronic conduction in the integer quantum Hall effect. We experimentally demonstrate the emergence of quantum-Hall-like chiral edge states in optomechanical resonator networks.

Abstract Control over light propagation and localization in photonic crystals offers wide applications ranging from sensing and on-chip routing to lasing and quantum light–matter interfaces. Although in electronic crystals, magnetic fields can be used to induce a multitude of unique phenomena, the uncharged nature of photons necessitates alternative approaches to bring about similar control over photons at the nanoscale.

Abstract Balanced homodyne interferometry is a well-known detection technique that allows for sensitive characterization of light fields. Conventionally a homodyne interferometer is operated by locking the relative phase of a reference beam to the signal beam by means of an active feedback loop. A less often used method is to perform a slow continuous modulation of the reference beam arm length that corresponds to averaging all relative phases during the measurement.