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Peer-reviewedCC BYNature Communications

Photon trapping in a time cavity flying at the speed of light

  • Ihar Babushkin1,2,3,4
  • Oliver Melchert5,6,7
  • Uwe Morgner5,6,8
  • Ayhan Demircan5,9,6,4
9 affiliations
  1. 1Cluster of Excellence PhoenixD, Welfengarten 1, Hannover, Germany. [email protected]
  2. 2Institute of Quantum Optics, Leibniz Universität Hannover, Welfengarten 1, Hannover, Germany. [email protected]
  3. 3Max Born Institute for Nonlinear Optics and Short Pulse Spectroscopy, Rudower Chaussee 17, Berlin, Germany. [email protected]
  4. 4Leibniz Universität Hannover
  5. 5Cluster of Excellence PhoenixD, Welfengarten 1, Hannover, Germany
  6. 6Institute of Quantum Optics, Leibniz Universität Hannover, Welfengarten 1, Hannover, Germany
  7. 7University of Hannover
  8. 8Leibniz University Hannover
  9. 9Hannover Centre for Optical Technologies, Nienburger Str.17, Hannover, Germany
Open at sourceDOICite

Abstract

A refractive index step, moving at the speed of light, can serve as a trap for weak light waves. Here we shed light on highly unusual features of such trapping, making it fundamentally different from conventional “resting” cavities. First, such trapping can be described as time-tapping rather than space-trapping. Trapping in time provides superior quality Q, but this quality does not anymore impose very narrow spectral lines, breaking thereby the fundamental time-bandwidth limit inherent to most traps of any physical nature. Although the trapped states are almost entirely disconnected from the outer world, a nonreciprocal connection channel involving resonant radiation can be opened and tunably manipulated. Nonreciprocity breaks the balance between the energy currents directed into the trap and back, allowing to load the trap faster than it is possible for reciprocal systems. Exotic, up to now unobserved in optics states such as halo states, and phenomena as anomalously huge delays in transmission occur naturally in a time trap. Beatings between the trapped-in-time modes provide a novel tool for ultrafast shaping of both spectral and temporal waveforms for arbitrary weak wavepackets, even for single photons. Altogether, this promises a highly efficient platform for energy storage, pulse compression, waveform shaping and frequency conversion for ultrafast classical and quantum optics.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{babushkin2026photon,
  title = {{Photon trapping in a time cavity flying at the speed of light}},
  author = {Ihar Babushkin and Oliver Melchert and Uwe Morgner and Ayhan Demircan},
  journal = {Nature Communications},
  year = {2026},
  month = aug,
  doi = {10.1038/s41467-026-77059-1},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-77059-1},
  note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Photon trapping in a time cavity flying at the speed of light
AU  - Ihar Babushkin
AU  - Oliver Melchert
AU  - Uwe Morgner
AU  - Ayhan Demircan
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/08/29
JO  - Nature Communications
DO  - 10.1038/s41467-026-77059-1
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-77059-1
AB  - A refractive index step, moving at the speed of light, can serve as a trap for weak light waves. Here we shed light on highly unusual features of such trapping, making it fundamentally different from conventional “resting” cavities. First, such trapping can be described as time-tapping rather than space-trapping. Trapping in time provides superior quality Q, but this quality does not anymore impose very narrow spectral lines, breaking thereby the fundamental time-bandwidth limit inherent to most traps of any physical nature. Although the trapped states are almost entirely disconnected from the outer world, a nonreciprocal connection channel involving resonant radiation can be opened and tunably manipulated. Nonreciprocity breaks the balance between the energy currents directed into the trap and back, allowing to load the trap faster than it is possible for reciprocal systems. Exotic, up to now unobserved in optics states such as halo states, and phenomena as anomalously huge delays in transmission occur naturally in a time trap. Beatings between the trapped-in-time modes provide a novel tool for ultrafast shaping of both spectral and temporal waveforms for arbitrary weak wavepackets, even for single photons. Altogether, this promises a highly efficient platform for energy storage, pulse compression, waveform shaping and frequency conversion for ultrafast classical and quantum optics.
SN  - 2041-1723
ER  -