Maxwell's demon-like nonreciprocity by non-Hermitian gyrotropic metasurfaces

Abstract

We show that Maxwell's demon-like nonreciprocity can be supported in a class of non-Hermitian gyrotropic metasurfaces in the linear regime. The proposed metasurface functions as a transmission-only Maxwell's demon operating at a pair of photon energies. Based on multiple scattering theory, we construct a dual-dipole model to explain the underlying mechanism that leads to the antisymmetric nonreciprocal transmission. The results may inspire new designs of compact nonreciprocal devices for photonics.