Programmable Non-Hermitian Synchronization of Light on a Silicon Photonic Processor

Abstract

Synchronization is a widespread collective phenomenon in which coupled units with different microscopic states evolve toward a common macroscopic order. Across these systems, dissipation plays an organizing role, suppressing microscopic differences and steering coupled units toward a coherent collective state. Here, we harness engineered dissipation in a nonunitary photonic framework to synchronize light directly in the optical domain. Implementing row-stochastic transition matrices embedded in a unitary photonic network on a silicon photonic processor, we drive generic multimode optical fields toward a unique collective state with equal modal intensities and a globally locked phase─a process we term dissipation-induced phase synchronization. The synchronization rate and total optical power throughput are independently programmable, enabling control over the dissipative dynamics without compromising reconfigurability. These results recast dissipation as a functional resource and open a route to reconfigurable on-chip synchronization for classical and quantum photonic technologies.