Optical metamaterials based on broken symmetries

Abstract

In this talk, I discuss our recent research activity in nano-optics, polaritonics and electromagnetics, showing how suitably tailored metamaterials open exciting venues to realize new light phenomena and devices. I discuss in particular the role of broken symmetries in tailoring nano-optical phenomena, including tunable diffraction-free wave propagation and topological phenomena based on tailored lattice symmetries, time-reversal symmetry breaking in optical metamaterials, and parity-time symmetric phenomena.