Synthetic gauge potential and effective magnetic field in a Raman medium undergoing molecular modulation

Abstract: We theoretically demonstrate non-trivial topological effects for a probe field in a Raman medium undergoing molecular modulation processes. The medium is driven by two non-collinear pump beams. We show that the angle between the pumps is related to an effective gauge potential and an effective magnetic field for the probe field in the synthetic space consisting of a synthetic frequency dimension and a spatial dimension. As a result of such effective magnetic field, the probe field can exhibit topologically-protected one-way edge state in the synthetic space, as well as Landau levels which manifests as suppression of both diffraction and sideband generation. Our work identifies a previously unexplored route towards creating topological photonics effects, and highlights an important connection between topological photonics and nonlinear optics.