i ct.qmat 31 When we began developing topological lasers, everyone else said it couldn’t be done,” recalls Israeli scientist Mordechai Segev. He ushered in research into topological photonics in 2013 when he collaborated with Professor Alexander Szameit from Universität Rostock on a joint paper in Nature introducing the first photonic topological insulator. Since then, hundreds of topological photonics research groups have sprung up. “Six years ago, I also started working with Sebastian Klembt and Sven Hö fling from JMU Würzburg, both members of ct.qmat. My team in Haifa is strong on theory and on experiments in photonics. But we lack the facilities for fabrication and low-temperature experiments, which are conducted in Würzburg. Even though our regular meetings were put on hold during the pandemic, our collaboration continued,” says Segev. He explained that although topological photonics actually dates back to 2008 (a theoretical paper by Nobel laureate Duncan Haldane of Princeton), only now are the first practical applications emerging. The most promising one, according to Segev, is the laser array presented with Klembt and Hofling in Science in 2021. Another is quantum computing, which will most likely be based on photonic platforms. “However, because photonic circuits aren’t very fault-tolerant, topological methods will be required to protect them.” And he adds: “Topological photonics can also be used to control the orbital angular momentum (i.e., the topology) of laser beams. This is something we’re now working on with Würzburg.” According to Segev, “perhaps the most exciting research in topological physics” currently concerns photonic topological insulators. “The surfaces of these insulating materials support the flow of photons without dissipation and could therefore also aid quantum computing. In September 2022, Alexander Szameit (my closest collaborator at ct.qmat) and I demonstrated the viability of three-dimensional photonic topological insulators in Nature. We’re now planning challenging experiments in synthetic space involving topological photonics in four or even more dimensions. This could give us new insights into the (counterintuitive) physics of a high-dimensional world and spark new ideas leading us into uncharted territory. This would allow physical systems to be engineered in which waves are transported in strange and unusual ways.” Physics World Breakthrough of the Year-Award ... ist eine vom britischen Fachjournal Physics World vergebene Auszeichnung. Es kommt einem Adelsschlag gleich, als eine von zehn Top-Publikationen für den „Durchbruch des Jahres“ nominiert zu werden. Laut Angaben der Zeitschrift hat das Herausgabeteam für die Nominierungen 2021 Hunderte von Artikeln bewertet, die in dem Jahr erschienen sind. Physics World ist die wichtigste Zeitschrift im Verlag des britischen Institute of Physics, einer der ältesten wissenschaftlichen Gesellschaften Europas. ... is an award presented by the British journal Physics World. Having a publication declared one of the ten finalists is like being made a knight of the scientific order! According to the journal, the editorial team assessed hundreds of articles published in 2021 before whittling them down to ten finalists for that year’s Breakthrough of the Year award. Physics World is the flagship journal of the British Institute of Physics, one of Europe’s oldest scientific societies.
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