Anomalous Spontaneous Emission Enhancement by Non-Hermitian Momentum-Space Bound States in the Continuum

Abstract

Conventional Purcell theory emphasizes high quality factors (Q) for spontaneous emission (SE) enhancement in cavities, but overlooks collective Bloch mode effects in periodic nanostructures like photonic crystal slabs. We introduce a unified temporal coupled-mode framework to compute Purcell and photoluminescence factors through momentum-space integration, revealing anomalous SE enhancement by non-Hermitian momentum-space bound states in the continuum (BICs). In silicon gratings with comparable effective mode volumes, this yields substantial SE enhancement in low-Q regimes--defying the traditional high-Q paradigm and inversely correlated with system Q--while emission rates are stably twice the photoluminescence, eliminating critical coupling requirements. Unique spectral profiles, contradicting Lorentzian/Fano assumptions, arise from collective mode interactions. Full-wave simulations confirm these challenges to conventional wisdom, with non-Hermitian BICs outperforming high-Q designs across broad numerical apertures. This establishes a novel paradigm leveraging non-Hermiticity and topological protection for robust, bright emitters, redefining nanophotonic applications in lasers and light-emitting diodes