Electromagnetic Waves in Crystals: The Presence of Exceptional Points

Although the investigation of the propagation of electromagnetic waves in crystals dates back to the 19th century, the presence of singular optic axes in optically anisotropic materials has not been fully explored until now. Along such an axis, either a left or a right circular polarized wave can propagate without changing its polarization state. More generally, these singular optic axes belong to exceptional points (EPs) in the momentum space and correspond to a simultaneous degeneration of the eigenmodes and their propagation properties. Herein, a comprehensive discussion on EPs in optically anisotropic materials, their occurrence, and properties as well as the properties of the electromagnetic waves propagating along such EPs is presented. The presence of such EPs, their spatial and spectral distribution in bulk, and semi-infinite and finite crystals are discussed. It is shown that the presence of interfaces has a strong impact on the presence of the EPs and their spatial distribution. At an EP, the propagation of an arbitrarily polarized wave cannot be described by a superposition of two eigenmodes, as typically described in textbooks. This leads to singularities if the reflection and transmission coefficients have to be calculated. Here, two approaches are presented to overcome these limitations.