Single-Shot Realization of 10000-Mode Octave-Spanning Artificial Gauge Fields

Abstract

Artificial gauge fields (AGFs) enable photons and other bosons to emulate fermionic phenomena such as chiral edge transport and quantum Hall phases; however, existing theories and realizations remain confined to narrow bandwidths under single-mode approximation. We introduce a general theoretical framework for ultra-broadband, multi-modal dispersion-corrected AGFs in both linear and nonlinear regimes. Using integrated photonics, we realize over 100 distinct AGFs hosting more than 10,000 modes across nearly an optical octave -- the first frequency-comb realization of the integer quantum Hall model for photons. Leveraging Kerr nonlinearity, we achieve single-shot AGF control beyond waveguide dispersion, robust to wafer-scale fabrication variations. Our results establish a new regime of ultra-broadband multimodal AGFs, opening pathways to exotic dispersion-corrected AGF dynamics and simulations, as well as volume-manufacturable device functionalities such as waveguide-dispersion-resilient photonic circuits, and AGF-enabled programmable nonlinear and quantum optics and optoelectrics.