High-order spectral singularity

Abstract

Exceptional point and spectral singularity are two types of singularity that are unique to non-Hermitian systems. Here, we report the high-order spectral singularity as a high-order pole of the scattering matrix for a non-Hermitian scattering system, and the high-order spectral singularity is a unification of the exceptional point and spectral singularity. At the high-order spectral singularity, the scattering coefficients have high-order divergence and the scattering system stimulates high-order lasing. The wave emission intensity is polynomially enhanced, and the order of the growth in the polynomial intensity linearly scales with the order of the spectral singularity. Furthermore, the coherent input controls and alters the order of the spectral singularity. Our findings provide profound insights into the fundamentals and applications of high-order spectral singularities.