Abstract

A light pulse propagating in a suddenly switched-on photonic lattice, when the central frequency lies in the photonic bandgap, is an analog of the Rabi model, where the two-level system is the two resonant (i.e., Bragg-coupled) Fourier modes of the pulse, while the photonic lattice serves as a monochromatic external field. A simple theory of this Rabi oscillations is given and confirmed by the numerical solution of the corresponding Maxwell equations. This is a direct, i.e., temporal analog of the Rabi effect, additionally to the spatial analog in optical beam propagation described previously [Opt. Lett. 32, 1920 (2007) ]. An additional high-frequency modulation of the Rabi oscillations reflects the lattice-induced energy transfer between the electric and magnetic fields of the pulse.

© 2008 Optical Society of America

Interband resonant transitions in two-dimensional hexagonal lattices: Rabi oscillations, Zener tunnelling, and tunnelling of phase dislocations

Valery S. Shchesnovich, Anton S. Desyatnikov, and Yuri S. Kivshar
Opt. Express 16(18) 14076-14094 (2008)

Bragg-resonance-induced Rabi oscillations in photonic lattices

Valery S. Shchesnovich and Sabino Chávez-Cerda
Opt. Lett. 32(13) 1920-1922 (2007)

Slow-light effect in dual-periodic photonic lattice

Alexey G. Yamilov, Mark R. Herrera, and Massimo F. Bertino
J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 25(4) 599-608 (2008)

Optical transitions and Rabi oscillations in waveguide arrays

K. G. Makris, D. N. Christodoulides, O. Peleg, M. Segev, and D. Kip
Opt. Express 16(14) 10309-10314 (2008)

Degree of paraxiality for monochromatic light beams

Omar El Gawhary and Sergio Severini
Opt. Lett. 33(12) 1360-1362 (2008)