Giant nonreciprocity near exceptional-point degeneracies

Abstract

We show that gyrotropic structures with balanced gain and loss that respect antilinear symmetries exhibit a giant nonreciprocity at the so-called exact phase where the eigenfrequencies of the isolated non-Hermitian setup are real. The effect occurs in a parameter domain near an exceptional- point (EP) degeneracy, where mode orthogonality collapses. The theoretical predictions are confirmed numerically in the microwave domain, where a nonreciprocal transport above 90 dB is demonstrated, and are further verified using lumped-circuitry modeling. The analysis allows us to speculate the universal nature of the phenomenon for any wave system where EP and gyrotropy can coexist.