Drift-induced nonreciprocity in image-polariton-mediated dipole emission
Abstract
Electrical current bias offers a magnet-free route to nonreciprocal light propagation at the nanoscale. Here, we theoretically explore drift-induced nonreciprocity in graphene heterostructures containing hexagonal boron nitride (hBN), where graphene plasmons interact with hBN phonon polaritons in the infrared. Both the random-phase approximation and the Boltzmann transport equation are used to characterize the nonlocal optical response of drift-biased graphene. We compare graphene on hBN with an image-polaritonic structure comprising graphene, a thin hBN spacer, and a gold substrate. Carrier drift produces pronounced directional shifts of the polariton dispersion, while coupling to hBN phonon polaritons strongly modifies the nonreciprocal response. In the image-polaritonic structure, the graphene polaritons become up to twice as confined while retaining a comparable Fizeau shift. The nonreciprocal polariton dispersion produces directional near-field emission and nonreciprocal dipole-dipole interactions, the latter quantified through the cross density of optical states, reaching a left-right dissymmetry of up to ~40%. Our results identify image polaritons in drift-biased graphene as a compact, electrically tunable platform for directional coupling between quantum emitters at the nanoscale.
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BibTeX
@misc{hansen2026driftinduced,
title = {{Drift-induced nonreciprocity in image-polariton-mediated dipole emission}},
author = {Christian Nicolaisen Hansen and Eduardo J. C. Dias and Christos Tserkezis and Joel D. Cox},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2610.38348},
eprint = {2610.38348},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.38348},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Drift-induced nonreciprocity in image-polariton-mediated dipole emission
AU - Christian Nicolaisen Hansen
AU - Eduardo J. C. Dias
AU - Christos Tserkezis
AU - Joel D. Cox
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/28
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2610.38348
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.38348
AB - Electrical current bias offers a magnet-free route to nonreciprocal light propagation at the nanoscale. Here, we theoretically explore drift-induced nonreciprocity in graphene heterostructures containing hexagonal boron nitride (hBN), where graphene plasmons interact with hBN phonon polaritons in the infrared. Both the random-phase approximation and the Boltzmann transport equation are used to characterize the nonlocal optical response of drift-biased graphene. We compare graphene on hBN with an image-polaritonic structure comprising graphene, a thin hBN spacer, and a gold substrate. Carrier drift produces pronounced directional shifts of the polariton dispersion, while coupling to hBN phonon polaritons strongly modifies the nonreciprocal response. In the image-polaritonic structure, the graphene polaritons become up to twice as confined while retaining a comparable Fizeau shift. The nonreciprocal polariton dispersion produces directional near-field emission and nonreciprocal dipole-dipole interactions, the latter quantified through the cross density of optical states, reaching a left-right dissymmetry of up to ~40%. Our results identify image polaritons in drift-biased graphene as a compact, electrically tunable platform for directional coupling between quantum emitters at the nanoscale.
ER -