Abstract
In many linear and nonlinear systems, time-reversal symmetry makes it possible to control the output waves by appropriately shaping the input waves. However, time-reversal symmetry is broken in systems with energy dissipation, necessitating a different approach for relating the input and output fields. We theoretically consider a saturated multimode fibre amplifier in which light generates a heat flow and suffers thermo-optical nonlinearity, thus breaking time-reversal symmetry. We identify a spacetime symmetry that maps the target output back to an input field. This spacetime symmetry mapping applies phase conjugation, gain and absorption substitution but not time reversal, and it holds in a steady state and for slowly varying inputs. Our approach enables coherent wavefront control of nonlinear dissipative systems.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 839-845 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | Nature Physics |
| Volume | 21 |
| Issue number | 5 |
| Early online date | 1 Apr 2025 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 31 May 2025 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited 2025.
Data Availability Statement
The data are available via Zenodo at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14190653 (ref. 51).Acknowledgements
We thank Y. Eliezer for assisting in establishing the time-domain simulation code. We also thank A. Yamilov, O. D. Miller and S. Fan for fruitful discussions. We acknowledge the computational resources provided by the Yale High Performance Computing Cluster.Funding
This work is supported by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (Grant No. FA9550-24-1-0182 to H.C. and A.D.S.) and by the Simons Foundation (A.D.S. and M.F.).
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Physics and Astronomy