Title: Cross-Domain Analogies in Photonic Time-Varying Media: Emerging Paradigms in Optics
Abstract: Analogies, central to the course of science, stand as potent mechanisms for navigating the intricacies of physical phenomena across diverse domains. From a mathematical perspective, the recurrence of analogous formalisms across distinct physical systems has been a wellspring of curiosity and inspiration. While the scientific journey has witnessed many eureka moments, its continued advancement is often propelled by intellectual engines beyond these singular leaps—chief among them, analogy. Over time, photonics has demonstrated the quintessential efficacy of analogies in expanding the horizons of human inquiry. Far beyond mere emulations, this pursuit has enabled new ventures in optical physics and photonic computing, defying conventional limitations.
This talk highlights the power of time-varying media to advance analogical reasoning in optics. In the first part, I will present how these platforms offer an effective route to realizing ultrafast rotational dynamics beyond the limits of mechanical systems—essential for observing elusive phenomena with origins in celestial mechanics. In particular, I will show that Floquet-driven rotation enables the realization of Zel’dovich’s electromagnetic analogue of Penrose’s proposal for energy extraction from a rotating black hole. In the second half, I will discuss how the isomorphism between the Schrödinger equation and the paraxial wave equation, within the framework of a time-dependent optical gain–detuning parameter space, enables us to explore the peculiarities of the adiabatic theorem in non-Hermitian quantum mechanics.
Finally, I will provide a brief outlook on how these ideas may inform broader efforts in cross-domain analogies, contributing to new paradigms in optics and photonics that harness the time degree of freedom.
Bio: Hadiseh Nasari received her Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering with the highest honors (summa cum laude) from Iran in 2017. Between 2018 and 2020, she pursued postdoctoral studies at the University of California, San Diego, and the University of California, Berkeley. Following this, from 2020 to 2023, she held a position as a research scientist at CREOL—The College of Optics & Photonics—at the University of Central Florida and at the University of Southern California. Subsequently, she joined the Photonics Initiative of the Advanced Science Research Center at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, where she is currently serving as a postdoctoral research associate.
Her research explores emergent optical phenomena inspired by cross-disciplinary analogies and implemented through nanostructured and temporally driven photonic systems. With core contributions to topological phases, non-Hermitian dynamics, and nonlinear light–matter interactions, her broader body of work extends into terahertz photonics, plasmonics, and two-dimensional materials. By integrating theoretical analysis, advanced simulation, and experimental methodologies, her efforts aim to uncover new frontiers in optical physics and photonic computing. Her work has been published in leading journals including Nature and Science.
Dr. Nasari is the recipient of a Marie-Curie Actions Seal of Excellence in 2019, of the 2018 Dr. Kazemi Ashtiani Award from Iran’s National Elites’ Foundation (INEF), and of a special award of INEF from 2015 to 2018. She translated “Fundamentals of Photonics” from English into Persian and serves as a reviewer for more than 20 optics journals. She has also contributed to the organization of Metamaterials conferences and Optica technical meetings.
Host: Michal Lipson