Nontrivial band geometry in an optically active system

Abstract: Optical activity (OA), also called circular birefringence, is known for two hundred years, but its applications for topological photonics remain unexplored. Unlike the Faraday effect, OA provokes rotation of the linear polarization of light without magnetic effects, thus preserving the time-reversal symmetry. Here, we report a direct measurement of the Berry curvature and quantum metric of the photonic modes of a planar cavity containing an optically active organic microcrystal (perylene). Photonic spin-orbit-coupling induced by the cavity results in the action of a non-Abelian gauge field on photons. The addition of high OA makes emerge geometrically non-trivial bands containing two gapped Dirac cones with opposite topological charges. This experiment performed at room temperature and at visible wavelength establishes the potential of optically active organic materials for implementing non-magnetic and low-cost topological photonic devices.