Coexistence of polariton bound states in the continuum and 2D radiative excitons
Abstract
Bound states in the continuum (BICs) enable optical modes with ideally infinite radiative lifetimes despite lying within the radiation continuum. Radiation-matter interaction in periodically patterned planar waveguides embedding two-dimensional (2D) optically active excitations can be described quantum mechanically by diagonalizing a non-Hermitian operator, known as the Hopfield matrix, which can be generalized to incorporate independent photonic and excitonic losses into the polaritonic states. However, since 2D excitons undergo intrinsic wavevector-dependent radiative decay within the light cone, whether the Hopfield formalism can consistently account for this process while preserving polariton BICs has remained an open question. Here we show that a non-Hermitian Hopfield formalism incorporating excitonic radiative losses correctly captures the existence of genuine k=0 polariton BICs with diverging radiative lifetimes. The theory provides a unified microscopic framework for radiative excitons and polariton BICs, and an efficient predictive tool for designing photonic-crystal platforms coupled to quantum wells, transition-metal dichalcogenides, and other 2D excitonic materials.
Related
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- Bistable topological edge states in polariton microcavities with unpaired Dirac cones
- Giant Rydberg Excitons Delineated as Relativistic Bound States
- Doublon bound states in the continuum through giant atoms
- Topologically protected bound states in the continuum in the Su-Schrieffer-Heeger chain
BibTeX
@misc{zanotti2026coexistence,
title = {{Coexistence of polariton bound states in the continuum and 2D radiative excitons}},
author = {Simone Zanotti and Marco Liscidini and Dario Gerace and Lucio C. Andreani},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = aug,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2608.30691},
eprint = {2608.30691},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2608.30691},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Coexistence of polariton bound states in the continuum and 2D radiative excitons
AU - Simone Zanotti
AU - Marco Liscidini
AU - Dario Gerace
AU - Lucio C. Andreani
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/08/31
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2608.30691
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2608.30691
AB - Bound states in the continuum (BICs) enable optical modes with ideally infinite radiative lifetimes despite lying within the radiation continuum. Radiation-matter interaction in periodically patterned planar waveguides embedding two-dimensional (2D) optically active excitations can be described quantum mechanically by diagonalizing a non-Hermitian operator, known as the Hopfield matrix, which can be generalized to incorporate independent photonic and excitonic losses into the polaritonic states. However, since 2D excitons undergo intrinsic wavevector-dependent radiative decay within the light cone, whether the Hopfield formalism can consistently account for this process while preserving polariton BICs has remained an open question. Here we show that a non-Hermitian Hopfield formalism incorporating excitonic radiative losses correctly captures the existence of genuine k=0 polariton BICs with diverging radiative lifetimes. The theory provides a unified microscopic framework for radiative excitons and polariton BICs, and an efficient predictive tool for designing photonic-crystal platforms coupled to quantum wells, transition-metal dichalcogenides, and other 2D excitonic materials.
ER -