Somnath Ghosh

Bio: Somnath Ghosh is an academic researcher from Indian Institute of Technology, Jodhpur. The author has contributed to research in topics: Microstructured optical fiber & Optical fiber. The author has an hindex of 28, co-authored 287 publications receiving 3318 citations. Previous affiliations of Somnath Ghosh include University of Calcutta & Indian Institute of Science.

Nonlinearity-induced anomalous mode collapse and nonchiral asymmetric mode switching around multiple exceptional points

Abstract: The dynamical encirclement around a second-order exceptional point (EP) and corresponding chirality driven nonadiabatic modal dynamics have attracted enormous attention in the topological study of various non-Hermitian systems. However, dynamical encirclement around multiple second-order EPs in a multistate system is yet to be explored. Here, exploiting an exclusive design of a planar gain-loss assisted three-mode supported optical waveguide with local Kerr nonlinearity, we encounter multiple second-order EPs. Judiciously, choosing a specific parameter space by varying the unbalanced gain-loss profile, we encircle multiple EPs simultaneously, and explore the beam dynamics toward corresponding chiral or nonchiral aspects of the device. While propagating through the designed waveguide, three coupled modes are collapsed into a specific dominating mode, owing to corresponding nonadiabatic corrections around multiple EPs. We reveal that in the absence of chirality the same amount of focusing- and defocusing-type nonlinearity gives different dominating output, irrespective of the choice of inputs, for the same topological structure of the waveguide. An analytical model to describe this anomalous mode collapsing phenomenon due to interplay between nonlinearity and the EP has been developed. Our findings should provide a promising opportunity to switch or retrieve a selective mode from a multimode signal in integrated devices.

Effects of shear and walls on the diffusion of colloids in microchannels.

Abstract: Colloidal suspensions flowing through microchannels were studied for the effects of both the shear flow and the proximity of walls on the particles' self-diffusion. Use of hydrostatic pressure to pump micron-sized silica spheres dispersed in water-glycerol mixture through poly(dimethylsiloxane) channels with a cross section of 30×24μm 2 , allowed variation in the local Peclet number (Pe) from 0.01 to 50. To obtain the diffusion coefficients, image-time series from a confocal scanning laser microscope were analyzed with a method that, after finding particle trajectories, subtracts the instantaneous advective displacements and subsequently measures the slopes of the mean squared displacement in the flow (x) and shear (y) directions. For dilute suspensions, the thus obtained diffusion coefficients (D x and D y ) are close to the free diffusion coefficient at all shear rates. In concentrated suspensions, a clear increase with the Peclet number (for Pe > 10) is found, that is stronger for D x than for D y . This effect of shear-induced collisions is counteracted by the contribution of walls, which cause a strong local reduction in D x and D y .

I and i

Abstract: There is, I think, something ethereal about i —the square root of minus one. I remember first hearing about it at school. It seemed an odd beast at that time—an intruder hovering on the edge of reality. Usually familiarity dulls this sense of the bizarre, but in the case of i it was the reverse: over the years the sense of its surreal nature intensified. It seemed that it was impossible to write mathematics that described the real world in …

Exceptional points in optics and photonics.

Abstract: BACKGROUND Singularities are critical points for which the behavior of a mathematical model governing a physical system is of a fundamentally different nature compared to the neighboring points. Exceptional points are spectral singularities in the parameter space of a system in which two or more eigenvalues, and their corresponding eigenvectors, simultaneously coalesce. Such degeneracies are peculiar features of nonconservative systems that exchange energy with their surrounding environment. In the past two decades, there has been a growing interest in investigating such nonconservative systems, particularly in connection with the quantum mechanics notions of parity-time symmetry, after the realization that some non-Hermitian Hamiltonians exhibit entirely real spectra. Lately, non-Hermitian systems have raised considerable attention in photonics, given that optical gain and loss can be integrated as nonconservative ingredients to create artificial materials and structures with altogether new optical properties. ADVANCES As we introduce gain and loss in a nanophotonic system, the emergence of exceptional point singularities dramatically alters the overall response, leading to a range of exotic functionalities associated with abrupt phase transitions in the eigenvalue spectrum. Even though such a peculiar effect has been known theoretically for several years, its controllable realization has not been made possible until recently and with advances in exploiting gain and loss in guided-wave photonic systems. As shown in a range of recent theoretical and experimental works, this property creates opportunities for ultrasensitive measurements and for manipulating the modal content of multimode lasers. In addition, adiabatic parametric evolution around exceptional points provides interesting schemes for topological energy transfer and designing mode and polarization converters in photonics. Lately, non-Hermitian degeneracies have also been exploited for the design of laser systems, new nonlinear optics phenomena, and exotic scattering features in open systems. OUTLOOK Thus far, non-Hermitian systems have been largely disregarded owing to the dominance of the Hermitian theories in most areas of physics. Recent advances in the theory of non-Hermitian systems in connection with exceptional point singularities has revolutionized our understanding of such complex systems. In the context of optics and photonics, in particular, this topic is highly important because of the ubiquity of nonconservative elements of gain and loss. In this regard, the theoretical developments in the field of non-Hermitian physics have allowed us to revisit some of the well-established platforms with a new angle of utilizing gain and loss as new degrees of freedom, in stark contrast with the traditional approach of avoiding these elements. On the experimental front, progress in fabrication technologies has allowed for harnessing gain and loss in chip-scale photonic systems. These theoretical and experimental developments have put forward new schemes for controlling the functionality of micro- and nanophotonic devices. This is mainly based on the anomalous parameter dependence in the response of non-Hermitian systems when operating around exceptional point singularities. Such effects can have important ramifications in controlling light in new nanophotonic device designs, which are fundamentally based on engineering the interplay of coupling and dissipation and amplification mechanisms in multimode systems. Potential applications of such designs reside in coupled-cavity laser sources with better coherence properties, coupled nonlinear resonators with engineered dispersion, compact polarization and spatial mode converters, and highly efficient reconfigurable diffraction surfaces. In addition, the notion of the exceptional point provides opportunities to take advantage of the inevitable dissipation in environments such as plasmonic and semiconductor materials, which play a key role in optoelectronics. Finally, emerging platforms such as optomechanical cavities provide opportunities to investigate exceptional points and their associated phenomena in multiphysics systems.